December 1, 2004 - Top U



December 1, 2004 - Top U.S. officer defends treatment of detainees. 

Head of Joint Chiefs rejects allegations that Guantanamo captives are coerced, tortured.

Dismissing charges that tactics used at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, amount to torture, Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, defended the military's interrogation policies Tuesday in Indianapolis.

"We certainly don't think it's torture," Myers said, responding to allegations from the International Committee of the Red Cross about treatment of detainees at the U.S. naval base.

The U.S. Department of Justice helped set guidelines for the treatment of detainees, Myers said, and the military followed them at Guantanamo.

"Let's not forget the kind of people we have down there," the nation's top military officer said at the Indiana Convention Center before speaking to the Economic Club of Indianapolis about the war on terror. "These are the people that don't know any moral values."

Many have been held indefinitely since their capture in the Middle East and Afghanistan. Myers said the threat they pose is real -- at least 12 former detainees have been killed or captured on the battlefield after their release.

Myers had not yet read a New York Times story about the Red Cross report, he said. The Times obtained a memo outlining a confidential report sent by the Red Cross in July to the White House, Pentagon and State Department. The report was based on a visit to Guantanamo in June by a team of Red Cross inspectors.

According to Tuesday's Times story, the report charged that psychological and physical coercion at the base violated international treaties; interrogators' tactics included humiliating acts, solitary confinement, temperature extremes and the use of forced positions.

Myers said interrogations and detentions at Guantanamo have been done properly, "according to all the laws and treaties that we signed up to, and for basic human decency and human rights."

During a news conference, Myers also said urban combat training at bases such as Camp Atterbury south of Indianapolis has become more important in Iraq and other missions.

About 700 Indiana National Guard soldiers currently are training at the base for missions in Iraq and elsewhere. About 20,000 soldiers from Indiana and other states have trained at Camp Atterbury since the buildup to war in Iraq began in early 2003.

Since the invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, Myers said, "we've used about half of the Guard and reserves. The well is not bottomless. There is a finite number that we can use. We've got to be innovative in the way we put units together and perhaps retrain some units out of their normal specialties into the kind of specialties we need out on the battlefield."

Next year, the Pentagon plans its first round of base closings in 10 years. Myers offered no details on whether Indiana would be affected, but he said all factors would be considered, including economic effects.

Myers also addressed current events in Iraq. Coalition forces have adapted to changing conditions, he said, and he applauded the Fallujah operation for driving insurgents out of that area.

Casualties from that battle and violence elsewhere brought November's death toll to 135, matching the deadliest month for U.S. troops since the Iraq war began.

Later, in his talk to the economic group, Myers said the war on terror has had successes -- the largest being October's election in Afghanistan, in which 8.1 million votes were cast.

Iraqis soon will gear up for their elections, but challenges there remain, he said.

"It's going to be tough getting there," he said. "There are people who don't want it to happen." (Jon Murray, )

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December 03, 2004 - County officer called to Guard duty in Iraq

Montgomery County Police Officer Ken Maynor bade coworkers farewell Thursday.

Maynor has been called to the Army National Guard in Iraq. He’ll be a member of the Headquarters Service Battery 3rd 139th Field Artillery, attached to the 113th Engineering Battalion.

The call took Maynor and his wife, Debra, by surprise Wednesday. He leaves for Camp Atterbury Dec. 13 and may get a three-day leave for Christmas. Ken does not know what his duty will be in Iraq.

Debra and their four sons, ages 8, 5, 3, and 16 months, will remain at Crawfordsville where she will continue work as the St. Bernard’s School secretary. “It’s a bit of an emotional roller-coaster, but we’re getting there,” she said. “I’ve got business to take care of here and he’s got business to take care of over there.”

Debra is an Australian native and far from her parents. But Ken’s parents, John and Barbara Maynor, will care for the younger boys during the day. The community responded to the news with overwhelming support, Debra said, adding, “We’ve really been blessed.” (By Maria J. Flora, Journal Review, Crawfordsville, IN)

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December 03. 2004 - The agony (of waiting) and the ecstasy (of arrival).

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|Jaima Estep gives her fiance, |

|1st Lt. Andy Shellabarger, a big|

|kiss Thursday after the first |

|planeload of troops made it into|

|the 38th Infantry Division |

|Headquarters Armory in |

|Indianapolis. The couple and his|

|children Colton, 7, and Kassie, |

|11, live in Daleville. |

|Kurt Hostetler / The Star Press |

INDIANAPOLIS - The tension had been building all afternoon. Two planes full of soldiers had been scheduled to arrive at 6:50 and 11:50 p.m. Thursday.  But the call went out that the planes would actually be early; the first one at 5:15 - maybe.

Oh, and then the soldiers had to clear customs and catch a bus to the Division Armory.  How long does that take? An hour or so, maybe.  Waiting wears on one's soul - and patience.  So the tension continued to mount as the clock ticked off the seconds.

Then the announcement came: The first plane landed at 6:10 p.m.  The applause was heartfelt.  And then you could see all of the clock watchers move towards a large overhead door; others peeking out of a small side door.  At 7:15, the kids with their signs were hoisted onto older people's shoulders. And then the door raised slower than in a Hitchcock movie.

The applause was unbelievable.

The soldiers marched sharply inside and were dismissed, and formalities went out that big door.

Soldiers and families melded into one giant mass of humanity.

"It's great to be home," said Capt. Jeremy Gulley. "I couldn't be happier."  Gulley will finally get to sleep in the new house the family was building when he was called up.  The dean of students at the Jay County High School expects to be back on that job Dec. 20.  "It feels pretty good to be home," said Lt. Steve Breckeridge, Muncie. "I'm hungry for a good steak."  He'll have to eat it in a hurry. The man heads for Afghanistan in two weeks.  "I don't know how long I'll be gone," he said.

"I can't explain what it means to be home with the ones you love," said Lt. Andy Shellabarger, Daleville. "This is the happiest day of my life." He has a couple of things to take care of before he goes back to work. "I'm getting married and going on a honeymoon."  His fiancee, Jaima, "has waited a long time for this night. It's a dream come true."

The returning soldiers each received a six-day pass. They report to Camp Atterbury in southern Indiana on Dec. 8. for a week of debriefing. Some other members of the Indiana unit will remain in Bosnia until June. A few will be reporting for duty in Afghanistan, and the others will return to civilian life, at least until their country calls again.  (RIC ROUTLEDGE, Star Press)

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December 03, 2004 - Mock ambushes, live ammunition.  WAR: 113th Engineers Battalion juggles survival training and missed loved ones at Camp Atterbury.

1st Sgt. Daniel Ronay stood on a muddy road amid shell casings and tank tracks. Seconds earlier, a thunderous roadside bomb shot a fireball into the air.

The seen-it-all military lifer, with hardened face and hands, loosened up his Army helmet, lit up a Marlboro Red and looked at the bomb's rising smoke.

After exhaling toward overcast skies, the region Marine released seemingly classified information: He and his wife, a staff sergeant, will celebrate their 20th wedding anniversary in March. In Iraq. Together.

The sweet sentiments filtered out of him like incense from a cigar.

"Iraq," Ronay said, stomping out the butt, "will be my last hurrah."

For most of his fellow soldiers -- the local 113th Engineers Battalion -- serving this month in Operation Iraqi Freedom will be their first hurrah. They're training like it at Camp Atterbury, 30 miles south of Indianapolis.

Geographically, the enormous camp is roughly the size of Gary, with more than 5,000 resident soldiers training for overseas deployment.

By year's end, more than 20,000 National Guard troops will be deployed from the camp, which houses its own chapel, airfield and endless rows of barracks.

The typical overseas role of the 113th is to "build things up and blow things up," said Capt. John Pitt, of Porter, who's 100 percent behind Uncle Sam in Iraq.

As peacekeepers there, the battalion will manage construction sites and provide convoy support, he said.

Hurry up ... and wait

At remote Range 37, Alpha Company soldiers waited near a rolling 3-mile loop of mock villages and ambush attacks, similar to what they may see in Iraq.

Sitting on a grassy hill, M-4 machine guns to their side, they ate lunch from clear plastic "bag o' meals" -- cold sandwiches, Pringles, Milky Ways and fruit. It's the modern day MRE, or meal ready to eat.

To burn away the minutes until their live run, the men talked about everything under the hidden sun -- car engines, strip clubs and pizza toppings, in both southern drawl and urban speak.

One soldier proudly showed a photo of his newborn baby. Another dreamt out loud: "When I get back from Iraq ..."

Up along the entry road, Capt. Andy Kovats leaned on a Humvee, quietly reflecting on his wife and daughters back in Hobart. The 39-year-old U.S. Postal Service Inspector said his wife is the family's hero, not him.

An officer then barked out orders, and Kovats, 21 years now in the Guard, yelled "Roger that, sir," leaving his warm memories in the cool air. The enemy waited.

Enemy 'attacks'

A dozen 113th soldiers in Humvees and armored personnel carriers rumbled through the 3-mile loop.

The convoy drove 30 mph past automated pop-up targets and hostile insurgents with balloons pinned at heart-level. The vehicles use flashing turn signals to warn of enemy fire from the left or right.

Officers barked out "muzzle awareness!" reminding soldiers to know which way their guns are aimed while not shooting.

To the right, an "attack" triggered return live fire -- pop! pop! pop! -- from the soldier's machine guns. A 50-caliber gun shot loud holes in the southern Indiana silence.

At one village, trash cans blocked the road. The convoy came to a halt. Soldiers dismounted, aiming their weapons at imaginary enemies. Without warning a thunderous BOOM! jolted the air, causing a fireball along the roadside.

The soldiers scrambled for cover, pulling a "wounded" comrade aboard a vehicle. Two soldiers kicked down the trash cans, and the convoy raced on, four-way flashers signaling a casualty.

Roadside bombs and improvised explosive devices have caused nearly one-third of all deaths to Indiana military personnel in Iraq. Updated military intelligence is constantly used here to modify training, techniques and soldier survival skills.

"We need soldiers to put on their game face," Pitt said.

Mission or the man

At a different camp post, five Company Headquarters soldiers dismounted from an armored M1025 Humvee, dubbed "WARPIG," under a simulated ambush attack.

"Contact right!" a soldier yelled, warning that enemy gunfire is coming from the right. "Aggressive posture!"

Military intelligence from Iraq shows the less aggressive a U.S. convoy appears, the more it gets attacked from insurgents, who prefer to attack "easy pickings."

Within five seconds, Spc. Ivan McIntosh and Spc. Steven Brumfield, both of Gary, emptied out of the Humvee in synchronized precision, each with a choreographed attack stance and their M-4s aimed.

Their first thought: The three D's -- distance, direction and (enemy) description.

The vehicle's turret gunner on top is treated like a quarterback on a football team. When his heavy-gun, grenade launcher position goes down, the team often goes down.

McIntosh and Brumfield trained as if the gunner was hit. Their mission: Remove him -- wounded or dead -- and keep the weapon firing.

"It's either the mission or the man," one soldier said. "Most times, the mission is more important."

Dirty good-for-everything F.O.B.

Before leaving for deployment, region soldiers train at the camp's Forward Operating Base, or F.O.B., a mock Army base that simulates the size, design and living conditions of bases in Iraq.

Surrounded by concertina wire and sand bags, the 25-acre base houses dirt roads, guard towers, ammunition bunkers and key entry points designed against an attack. There are even mock armed enemies planted in a nearby field.

The base, where hundreds of soldiers train at a time, was built a few weeks ago with updated intelligence from Iraq.

Like with all camp maneuvers, soldiers here prepare under a "crawl, walk, run" mentality, first training without any ammunition before using blanks and then live ammo.

Only then do they fully understand the dull hours of classroom teachings beforehand, said Battalion Cmdr. Lt. Col. Richard Shatto.

"They're learning how to survive here," he said.

Crowded barracks, soldier sardines

Most guardsmen here earn about $1,200 every two weeks in take-home pay, yet they won't be taking it home in person for at least another year.

One crowded barrack houses 100 Bravo Company soldier sardines, most on double bunk beds with no privacy. Littered with duffel bags, personal items and camouflaged everything, it looks like a grenade hit it.

Tucked away is a city of Valparaiso flag to be hoisted soon in Iraq.

On Mondays, there is a Wal-Mart run. On Sundays, a chapel run. A sign over a phone reads, "15 Minutes" per call. On camp property, finding a cell phone reception is a mission in itself.

Spc. Ryan Ayres, of Portage, sat quietly on his top bunk penning a letter to his fiancee, oblivious to Guns N' Roses on a boombox and the sound of weapons being dismantled and cleaned.

Soldiers wake at 5:30 a.m., train most of the day and call lights out at 2300 hours, 11 p.m. Popular night-time perks include a small microwave oven and a handful of laptops to watch "computer cinema."

"We walk around and see which movie is better," one soldier said.

Care packages from loved ones are the best perk, said Company Cmdr. Jose Cuadra: "They're more popular than e-mails or phone calls. We can touch them."  (JERRY DAVICH, This story ran on on Thursday, December 2, 2004 12:27 AM CST)

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December 05, 2004 - National Guard's 939th Military Police Detachment Leaving for Iraq

 

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Saying good-bye is tough, but that's what some members of the Indiana National Guard are preparing to do.

They're bound for Iraq, but before they leave, the guard treated their families to a special night Saturday.  "My guys are like, you know, we gotta say good-bye one more time!" said one soldier.

It was family night for members of the Indiana National Guard's 939th Military Police Detachment at Camp Atterbury. 45 members will soon be leaving for Iraq.

Sgt. First Class  John Forbes with the Indiana National Guard says, "She kind of understands that dad's gonna be away for about a year!"

SFC. Forbes has been trying to explain it to young daughter Sara, something wife Jennifer is still grappling with. "What a lot of the general public doesn't understand is the dedication these guys have! In that when they are called, yes, it's terrible, but they just really have a lot of pride and it's just their duty and honor!" says Jennifer.

But here, they were being honored. Honored for the mission ahead. Sgt. First Class Kerry Buckner is saying good-bye to his family too. When asked what was going through his mind at the dinner SFC. Buckner replied, "Oh, just a lot of uncertainties and wondering what's actually gonna happen because the violence is getting so much worse everyday! Just kind of an uneasiness of the unknown!"

Buckner has a wife and a kid with another on the way. They're all concerned, including his mom. "I think as much as anything, I'm just afraid for him, but I know that there's a lot of guys who are over there! They'll do fine and I'm looking for him to come back home!" says Royce Bruckner.

Major Deedra Thombleson is saying good-bye to her little ones. Her husband just got back from Iraq. Thombleson says, "My five year old understands it because my husband was gone, so he understands mommy is going to Iraq! My two year old doesn't understand! She obviously doesn't understand! So, it is tough on the kids!"

The guard can't say exactly when the unit is leaving, but it will be soon. They'll function as a police department somewhere in Iraq. They'll conduct investigations and inspections among others things during their year-long tour of duty.  (WISH-TV, Indianapolis)

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December 07, 2004 - Guard unit called to active duty.  Company based in Anderson to train at camp in Mississippi.

A new company of Indiana Army National Guard soldiers has been called to active service, officials announced Monday, one week after most of another Hoosier Guard outfit returned home from duty overseas.

The mobilization taps A Company, 138th Signal Battalion. The unit, headquartered in Anderson, Ind., is being ordered to report to Camp Shelby in Mississippi in January. The camp, near Hattiesburg, is the only other full-scale mobilization center run by the National Guard besides Camp Atterbury in Indiana.

Guard officials declined to say why the unit was being sent for training out of state, citing security concerns.

The company is part of the Army's Signal Corps, which handles military communications. They had been informed last month that they were on alert, a move that usually leads to an active duty callup, said Capt. Lisa Kopczynski, state public affairs officer for the Guard.

The company's parent battalion has more than 400 soldiers, but Guard officials would not disclose exactly how many troops are being called up. According to the Pentagon, they will join more than 5,500 Indiana Guard and reserve troops from the Army, Air Force, Navy and Marines now on active duty. That figure means the state continues to have a record number of reservists called up since the attacks of Sept. 11.  (By Kevin O'Neal, )

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December 8, 2004 - Local Marion, Ohio National Guard unit returning.

Members of Marion’s unit of the Ohio National Guard will be home for the holidays. About 450 members of the Ohio National Guard’s 1-134th Field Artillery Battalion, including 75 from A Battery of Marion, will return home Wednesday from a nine-month deployment guarding U.S. military installations throughout Europe.

A public ceremony to welcome home the troops will be held 1 p.m. Wednesday at Harding High School, 1500 Harding Highway E. They will be arriving in Marion from Camp Atterbury in Indiana, from where they departed in March.

Brig. Gen. Ron Young, Ohio’s assistant adjutant general for the Army, said the Ohio National Guard currently has about 3,400 members mobilized for the Global War on terror.

“The soldiers of the 1-134th have performed their duties defending against and deterring potential security threats to U.S. military bases in Europe with honor and distinction,” he said in a press release. “We recognize that they and their families made significant sacrifices while they were away from home. We appreciate the enduring support which our communities have shown for our citizen soldiers and their families.”  (Marion Star, Marion, OH)

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December 09, 2004 - Small Base Now Big Asset to Military, Local Communities

By Sgt. 1st Class Doug Sample, USA, American Forces Press Service

CAMP ATTERBURY, Ind., Dec. 9, 2004 -- For more than 50 years, the only life here was on weekends and for two weeks in the summer. Now, you actually have to keep a watchful eye for marching troops and military convoys at the four-way stop entering the camp.

|[pic]The 76th Infantry Brigade, Indiana National Guard, is honored at a departure ceremony |

|at the Veterans' Memorial at Camp Atterbury, Ind., in August. The brigade is currently |

|supporting the training of the Afghan National Army at Camp Phoenix near Kabul, Afghanistan.|

|The crests at the memorial represent the major commands that have trained and deployed from |

|Camp Atterbury since the Joint Maneuver Training Center was founded in 1942. Photo by Sgt. |

|Les Newport, USA |

|(Click photo for screen-resolution image); high-resolution image available. |

 

For the first time since the Korean War, Camp Atterbury, a National Guard training center first activated June 1942 as a World War II training facility, has become an important military asset. Today, it prepares thousands of troops for deployment in the war on terror, while providing millions of dollars in economic impact to the state.

Army Col. Kenneth D. Newlin, who took command here in October 2002, said over the past two years more than 20,000 Army National Guard and Army Reserve members have been mobilized here for duty in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere.

That number is expected to remain steady as the Army presses more Guard and Reserve soldiers into active duty and the Defense Department has called for more troops in Iraq. Roughly half of the forces serving there now are Guard and Reserve members.

Newlin said the camp's gymnasium, which serves as the personnel readiness center, processes an average of 200 soldiers each day. Often, the center operated seven days a week.

A mix of units comes here: medical, engineer, infantry, armor and even training. For example, recently the 98th Division (Institutional Training) out of New York, a unit that consists mostly of drill sergeants, deployed to help the 42nd Infantry Division train the Iraqi army.

The camp's 64 beige concrete barracks house about 4,500 soldiers from more than 39 Guard and Reserve units from across the country, part of the third rotation of troops bound for Iraq. They will spend six to eight weeks in training, learning to avoid convoy ambushes and how to identify unexploded ordnance, two of the most serious dangers they will face in duty.

Newlin said the training here is based on the 40 Warrior Tasks directed by Army Chief of Staff Gen. Peter Schoomaker. All soldiers, regardless of specialty, must be proficient in the tasks, which include rifle and survival skills.

Besides those tasks, there are individual and collective training events in which soldiers are put in a forward operating base laid out exactly as they would see in Iraq. The idea is for soldiers to "see, smell and train" in the environment they would experience in Iraq, he said.

Iraqi nationals are brought in to be role players and play the role of insurgents to make the scenario more realistic. The FOB is attacked with mortar fire, and vehicle convoys are hit with improvised explosive devices.

During one part of the training, a convoy travels through a village. There, it is stopped, and plastic explosives are set off to simulate an IED. The sound of the blast "literally rocks their world," Newlin said.

"This is not just a little 'pop and drop simulator,'" he said. "The fireball cuts through the air, the black smoke billows out, and the concussion hits you in the face. Talk about shock effect; they know they just got blown up."

The soldiers are trained to fend off such an attack. At the convoy live-fire range, soldiers must engage targets on both sides of the vehicle, using whatever individual or crew-served weapon systems are available, from M-4, M- 249, to Mark 19 and .50-caliber weapons systems.

The training is based on lessons learned from Guard and Reserve units now in Iraq, Newlin said. Some training, however, is refresher courses for tasks learned in basic training, such as first aid and radio communications. Other training, such as rappelling, is designed to build the soldiers' confidence, Newlin explained.

Farewell ceremonies have become an almost weekly ritual here, and Camp Atterbury leaders treat each as a family affair. That's because many of the Guard and Reserve members departing are soldiers they have served with.

"It tough here," Newlin said. "About everyone I've known has deployed somewhere in some fashion or capacity.

"I'm proud to be training and mobilizing them," he continued, "because I truly look at every one of these soldiers as a brother and a friend. And in many cases, most of them are."

Newlin said the 113th Engineer Battalion, 38th Infantry Division, Indiana Army National Guard, is currently training at the camp mobilizing for duty in Iraq. It is the unit where he learned to lead soldiers as a noncommissioned officer, and he commanded until just two years ago.

While the units here await marching orders, soldiers spend off-duty time at the few facilities and activities the camp offers -- a shoppette, a physical fitness center, an "All Ranks" club, a laundry, a barbershop and a movie theater. Newlin said that though Camp Atterbury is small in size aspirations here are big. Since the war on terror began, the installation has become a viable asset to the military.

In February 2002, the Army mobilized Camp Atterbury, the first National Guard mobilization station to be called into service. As a Forces Command Power Support Platform, Camp Atterbury serves as a mobilization and training site for Guard and Reserve troops preparing for the war on terror. That same year, the camp was re-designated by the National Guard Bureau as a Joint Maneuver Training Center, making Camp Atterbury the premier training center in the state.

Newlin said that by becoming a joint training center, Camp Atterbury has fallen in line with the Chief of National Guard Bureau's vision of conducting more joint operations. He said the ability of the camp to "train all components of the services here, and a number of them in joint roles, is part of our ability to adapt and remain viable."

In fact, Guard and Reserve personnel from all services use the camp's training ranges. And Air National Guard units from Indiana and neighboring Kentucky use it to fly sorties overhead and to practice equipment drops from C-130 Hercules transport aircraft. Local state and federal law enforcement authorities use the live-fire ranges to hone their rifle skills.

The Army decision to activate the camp also has meant more military construction dollars for renovations and other quality-of-life improvements. The camp's first commercial franchise, a Subway sandwich shop is set to open next week. It will be the first such franchise on a National Guard base.

Construction has also begun on an $8 million battle simulation center that will enhance training, Newlin said. But what may make Camp Atterbury the NTC of the National Guard is the acquisition of the Muscatatuck State Developmental Center. The sprawling facility, once used to treat people with disabilities, is less than 45 miles east of the camp, and is closing soon. It would cost the state upwards of $40 million to destroy the facility and restore it for agricultural use.

However, Newlin said, Indiana National Guard leaders are hopeful that the ultimate urban warfare-training center could be created there and have put a proposal before the state legislature to do so.

"This would be 10 times the size of any CACTF that's out there," he said. "And it's going to allow us to replicate a more realistic environment for urban training. Instead of having a bunch of cookie-cutter buildings, all made of the same type of materials or facades of materials, you're actually going into a living, breathing city that is self-sustaining."

The residential facility has nearly 1,000 acres of land and some 70 buildings, including a five-story hospital, a minimum-security prison, a school, housing, administrative buildings and its own power station and water treatment plant. A kitchen facility there is capable of serving 4,500 meals three times a day.

Another advantage is the area's large buffer zones, Newlin said -- nearly 1,900 acres to the north and 800 acres to the south of agricultural and forest lands would clear the facility of encroachment. It also has 3,000 feet of underground tunnels, Newlin said, interconnecting the various buildings.

The resurgence of Camp Atterbury and its plans for expansion don't seem to bother the roughly 4,500 residents in the small farming town of Edinburgh where the camp is located. The yellow ribbons on car bumpers and rear windows indicate that many of the people here support the troops.

The local theater gives discounts "all evening, all shows" to those with military ID. And the case of popcorn that sits by Newlin's office door was donated by the local Boy Scouts for the troops, he explained.

Then there is the self-described "Little Old Popcorn Lady." Her business, "Popcorn and More" sells the treat in 100 flavors. Newlin said she ensures that every soldier arriving here gets a bag of the caramel-flavored treat along with a welcome note.

Newlin said he believes the community's appreciation for Camp Atterbury comes in part from the huge economic impact it has on the local community. During fiscal 2003 Camp Atterbury provided more than $78 million to the local community with everything from laundry services to the local seamstress who is kept busy sewing patches and American flags on military uniforms.

"This is truly one of the largest businesses in southern Indiana," Newlin said. The manager of a local pizza-delivery business called to personally thank Newlin, saying that his business increased so much he had to buy a second oven -- which means the pizza delivery traffic here will double. That's something else to watch out for at the camp's main intersection.

(Army Sgt. Les Newport, Camp Atterbury Public Affairs Office, contributed to this report.)

|Related Site: |

|Camp Atterbury, Ind. |

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|Historic Camp Atterbury |

|[pic] |Sgt. 1st Class Mary Turner of the 826th Personnel Services Detachment, Installation Support Unit, at Camp |

| |Atterbury, Ind., helps a soldier outprocess after returning from duty in England. Turner is among 600 soldiers |

| |assigned to the ISU, a unit that assists with the mobilization and demobilization, as well as training |

| |thousands of Guard and Reserve members at the installation. Photo by Sgt. 1st Class Doug Sample, USA |

|[pic] |High resolution photo |

|[pic] |Soldiers of the 1st Battalion, 293rd Infantry Brigade, Indiana National Guard, react to a chemical attack as |

| |part of the serious incident response team training at Camp Atterbury, Ind. The soldiers trained and deployed |

| |from the camp in support of Iraqi Freedom I in 2003. They returned from active duty and three months later were|

| |designated as Indiana's serious incident response team, a reaction force responsible for supporting homeland |

| |defense in time of crisis. Photo by Sgt. Les Newport, USA |

|[pic] |High resolution photo |

|[pic] |Soldiers of the Army Reserve's 98th Division (Institutional Training), Rochester, N.Y., respond to a mortar |

| |attack at Camp Atterbury, Ind. The 98th Division is currently deployed, training the Iraqi army at Camp |

| |Anaconda near Baghdad, Iraq. Photo by Sgt. Les Newport, USA |

|[pic] |High resolution photo |

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December 10, 2004 - Iraq-bound Hoosier soldiers bid farewell

Six-year-old Abigail Hines recited the prayer with her mother to try to stop the tears.

Her dad, Maj. Steve Hines, who grew up in Muncie, will leave for Iraq sometime before Christmas. He'll be gone for at least a year.

"My Daddy is helping to keep our land free," Susan Hines said, reciting the poem that is embroidered on a pillow Abigail shares with her twin sister, Kelly. "God bless him, and bring him home safely to me."  Abigail buried her head in her mother's hug.  "I know you don't want Daddy to go, honey," Susan Hines said. "I know. It will be OK."

Maj. Hines and about 600 Indiana National Guardsmen stood at attention Thursday morning at Camp Atterbury to bid Indiana a formal farewell. Most soldiers will depart for Iraq within the next few weeks.  Thursday's ceremony was just one part of the deployment drama that unfolds daily at Atterbury, a major military training camp south of Indianapolis.

Wearing fresh desert camouflage uniforms, the citizen-soldiers stood stoic and silent before a crowd of about 300 family members and friends, who came from across Indiana to give a ceremonial good-bye.  "Face the fears ahead," said Maj. Gen. R. Martin Umbarger, Adjutant General for the State of Indiana, who addressed soldiers Thursday morning. He implored them to remember key values such as loyalty, respect and courage during the mission overseas, urging them to "always do what is right."  "There will be dangers and adversities," he said. "You are the best of the best. You are ready and I know you will serve us well."

Most departing soldiers, including Hines, will have a chance to spend at least a weekend at home with their families before being deployed.

"I think the general consensus is that having to go through the good-byes over and over again is rough," said Tammy Shatto, Columbus, whose husband, Lt. Col. Richard Shatto commands the 113th Engineer Battalion. About 440 of the soldiers who gathered Thursday are members of the Gary-based 113th.  "It's been a roller coaster," Shatto said.

Meanwhile, in a nearby building Thursday, about 200 fellow Guardsmen, dressed in well-worn Army greens, gathered in a casual assembly for about eight hours of eye-glazing briefings.

The soldiers, a number of whom are from the Marion and Muncie areas, returned home from Bosnia last week after a year-long deployment. The five-day demobilization process is designed to help them readjust to civilian life.

"Our idea is to get you back into blue jeans and golf shirts - physically, mentally and emotionally," said Rod Merrell, a disabled veteran who emcees Atterbury's demobilization procedures.

Since February 2003, about 6,700 soldiers have returned to demobilize at Camp Atterbury, according to the camp's public affairs office. During the same time period, about 16,600 Guard and Reserve soldiers have shipped out.

A member of the 113th Engineering Battalion, Maj. Hines, 38, said he is "apprehensive" about going to Iraq. But he is ready to do his part.

Also departing in the next few weeks are about 130 members of the 1438th Transportation Co., and about 80 members of the 938th and 939th Military Police Detachment, public affairs officials at Camp Atterbury said.

Soldiers just home from Bosnia won't have to worry about a redeployment for at least 12 months, said Gen. Timothy Wright, who commanded Task Force Eagle in Bosnia. He stood in line for lunch Thursday during a break from marathon briefings.

"We've lived together for a year," said Wright, 57, adding that soldiers slog through demobilization in good spirits knowing they're just a few days from going home for good. "We all know each other. We're like a family." (KRISTIN HARTY, Star Press, Marion IN)

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December 10, 2004 - Engineer Unit Makes Sure New Soldiers Feel At Home

When Command Sgt. Maj. Richard Smith was asked by a visitor if he could send for a couple of soldiers from the 844th Engineer (Combat Heavy) Battalion to talk about their pending deployment to Iraq, the entire Charlie Company knocked on his door.

|[pic]Army Command Sgt. Maj. Richard Smith of the 844th Engineer (Combat Heavy) Battalion |

|talks with members of Charlie Company during a break in mobilization training at Camp |

|Atterbury, Ind., where the unit is preparing for possible deployment to Iraq. Some 170 |

|soldiers are newcomers to the battalion, but say the command has made them feel very much a |

|part of the unit. Photo by Sgt. 1st Class Doug Sample, USA |

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It was if they all had something they wanted to say about this unit. And the interview quickly moved from the sergeant major's tiny office here to a nearby dining facility.

"This group here is my extended family," Smith said while introducing the soldiers. "We are all family in this room."

If that is the case, then Camp Atterbury is the site for the annual family reunion. And many of the soldiers who have come to this rural Indiana National Guard Training Center awaiting possible deployment to Iraq are like distant cousins meeting for the first time: The 844th is made up of nearly 200 soldiers who came from other units.

Most of the soldiers in Charlie Company never knew each other or trained together before arriving here just seven weeks ago. But you wouldn't know it from talking to its members.

Despite being together for such a short time, 844th leaders here have built a family that has bonded like no other. Like many Guard and Reserve units suffering personnel shortages, Lt. Col. Donato Dinello, the 844th commander, said his unit had to be pieced together with soldiers from other units. It's a practice the Reserve calls "cross-leveling," in which soldiers are borrowed from other units to fill vacancies. Other voids are filled with Individual Ready Reserve members, discharged soldiers called back on active duty.

To maintain cohesion and to ensure that new soldiers felt part of the unit, Dinello said the plan was to get cross-level soldiers "rapidly assimilated" into the unit.  "My exact comments were, 'Bring them in here, treat them like they've always been here, and get them accustomed to our way of doing things,'" he said.

Dinello said bringing in "cross-levels" and IRR soldiers to help meet readiness levels is not a common practice in the reserves during peacetime, but that "it's quite common during times of war. The priority is to fill the unit deploying ahead of you."

That explains the personnel shortages in the 844th. The practice of swapping out soldiers hit the Knoxville, Tenn.-based unit hard as it prepared to take part in the third rotation of troops to Iraq.  Dinello said that when the 844th got orders to mobilize, it was without nearly 170 of its soldiers and some of its best leaders. Many of those leaders already had deployed to Iraq or had just returned after filling vacancies in other Reserve units during the first two rotations of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Knowing he would need those veterans to carry the unit on its current mission, Dinello personally asked many of those who had returned after serving as many as 14 months of duty to go back again, this time with their own unit.  "I just asked them one by one, and I told them, 'Hey, I need you to go back with me,' Dinello said soberly. "And each and every one of them said, 'Yes.'"

It is that kind of dedicated service and devotion that the newcomers to Charlie Company respect most about serving in this unit. Not only do they feel they belong here, but they express confidence in the experienced leadership, which makes them feel more secure about their mission, Dinello said.

Spc. Moneka Smith, 24, of Decatur Ga., is a cross-level soldier who was studying to become a registered nurse at Georgia Military Institute when she got orders to join the 844th. Prior to her arrival here in October, she received a welcome packet from the 844th that told everything about the unit, the history and the mission. She said the gesture "really made us feel like we were part of the family."

"It's always difficult," she said. "Coming into a new unit being a cross-level soldier, coming to a new place, a new state, and not knowing anyone or anything about the unit is hard, but I trust my leaders. You always have that fear, especially when you know that there are terrorists out there. However, I feel very confident, because we have a lot of experienced leaders who have been in combat before, and that helps relieve most of the fear that I have about this mission. I know they are going to take care of us."

Added Sgt. Ryan Hartley, 26, an individual ready reservist from Rochester, N.Y., who is back on active duty after a one-year hiatus: "Having so many soldiers who have never trained together, and to come together like we have, it is definitely amazing. I would definitely, without a question, follow this unit into battle."

It is that family-like togetherness that Smith feels will sustain this unit in what may be it toughest mission yet.  "We must take care of each other like family. If we don't, then we will falter," he said. "From squad leader, to platoon sergeant, to the first sergeant and commander, we take care of each other. It's like being a father, and this is my family. You want the best for them." (By Sgt. 1st Class Doug Sample, USA American Forces Press Service )

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December 11, 2004 - Army closes armor gap - Guard troops, vehicles to get plates before entering Iraq

FORT INDIANTOWN GAP - All Pennsylvania National Guard troops and their vehicles will have armor before they enter Iraq, Army officials said yesterday.

Also yesterday, the Army official who helps run the program that provides armor for Humvees said that every Humvee requiring armor in the combat zone will have it within 90 days. The only unarmored Humvees will be in protected bases.

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And the Army entered negotiations with an armor manufacturer yesterday in an effort to accelerate production of armored versions of the Humvee to get them to the troops faster, Army and company officials said.

The issue arose on Wednesday when Army Reserve Spc. Thomas Wilson, 31, of Nashville, Tenn., questioned Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld during a question-and-answer session in Kuwait about why some U.S. troops lacked adequate safety equipment. Wilson told Rumsfeld that some soldiers must pick through dumps looking for pieces of bullet-proof glass and armor plate to protect their Humvees.

Army Secretary Francis J. Harvey spoke with officials at Armor Holdings Inc., based in Jacksonville, Fla., who told him yesterday they could increase production by up to 100 vehicles a month. The company is producing 450 armored Humvees a month.

Army officials had previously believed the factory was working at capacity until the company told the news media Thursday that it was willing to boost production. Democrats immediately criticized the Bush administration for not boosting production sooner.

Company officials said the Armor Holdings plant was not immediately capable of boosting output. Armor Holdings said in a statement yesterday that it could increase its rate of production by February or March.

In addition, the Army would also have to go to Congress for additional funding if Armor Holdings sought more money, officials said. The cost of armored Humvees is about $150,000 each.

The Army has ordered 8,105 of the armored Humvees, and 5,910 are in Iraq, Afghanistan and nearby countries.

Of 19,000 Humvees used in Iraq and Afghanistan, 15,000 are armored, the Pentagon said Wednesday. Of those, about 6,000 have been equipped with the most up-to-date armor installed at Armor Holdings.

A fully armored Humvee is designed to withstand 8 pounds of explosive under the engine or 4 pounds of explosive under the crew cab.

But that's no guarantee of safety. If a 155 mm artillery shell is converted into a roadside bomb, even an armored Bradley or an M1 Abrams tank -- both stronger than an armored Humvee -- might not be enough protection.

The military has purchased thousands of kits with bolt-on armor, but several thousand Humvees, and thousands more heavy trucks, remain without armor for use against insurgent bombs, guns and rockets.

In an e-mail to Fort Indiantown Gap officials, Lt. Col. Philip J. Logan, the commander of Task Force Dragoon in Kuwait, said his troops -- many of them Pennsylvania National Guardsmen -- are getting ready to drive out of Kuwait into Iraq.  "All wheeled vehicles being driven north will have some form of armor on them," Logan said.  He said soldiers under his command will not be allowed to enter Iraq unless they have been issued body armor.

"No soldier will leave Kuwait without [armor] plates," said Logan, of the 1st Battalion of the 103rd Armor, Johnstown. "If they don't get them, they don't leave [Kuwait]. Period."

Col. Harry E. Coulter is preparing to lead 2,400 Pennsylvania National Guard soldiers into Kuwait for advanced training and then into Iraq in early summer. He also said every soldier will get body armor.  A Pentagon spokesman went further, saying all U.S. soldiers, no matter what unit, will have body armor. "I know there's enough [body] armor in theater to take care of everybody," said Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. Chris Rodney.

Lt. Col. Gregory Julian of the Atlanta-based Coalition Forces Land Components Command said there are 10 depots in Kuwait and Iraq where armor plate is added to the Humvees.  "All the vehicles that are being driven into Iraq are up-armored or have add-on armor," Julian said. If the vehicles aren't armored, they will be hauled in.

Once inside Iraq, unarmored vehicles could be upgraded with armor or they could be used in a secure site, a National Guard spokesman said.  Sgt. Maj. Vincent Conti, of Ringtown, Columbia County, spent six months in Iraq and returned Oct. 30.  "When I was there, they were updating the vehicles," said Conti, a member of the state National Guard's 55th Brigade, 28th Infantry Division Mechanized. "They were working on that continuously while I was in theater."

Conti said some of the Humvees had updated body armor.  "Not a lot of them. They were still updating them as they were coming into country. Kits that they put on them with the doors, the bullet-proof glass," Conti said.

Workers at Letterkenny Army Depot made 860 armor kits for Humvees from January through April. Now, Letterkenny workers are making 150 armor kits to be installed on 5,000-gallon fuel tankers, said Col. William Guinn, commander of Letterkenny Army Depot.  "We're just one of many, many sites doing it," Guinn said of depots producing armor kits for soldiers.

Guinn said he expects the Army to assign Letterkenny and other depots to make armor kits for five-ton trucks. About 108 kits will be made at Letterkenny. Guinn anticipates Letterkenny will get more armor-making missions after that.  Letterkenny's traditional role is repairing air defense and tactical missile systems.

"The Army was throwing a pretty darn wide net, saying if you have the capability to cut and bend steel, we want you to start doing that," Guinn said.  Letterkenny workers were turning out roughly 75 armor kits a week during the Humvee mission. Guinn said the employees signed their name on a note placed in each kit saying the armor was made by workers at Letterkenny.

"We got letters back from soldiers in Iraq thanking them. That's a pretty good motivator," Guinn said, adding that many of the Letterkenny workers are veterans.  Massachusetts Democratic Sen. John F. Kerry, who continually decried the lack of equipment during his unsuccessful presidential campaign, yesterday called on Rumsfeld to investigate.  Several companies that manufacture protective equipment have indicated they can significantly boost production, Kerry said in a letter to Rumsfeld.

While there seems to be enough body armor and many of the Humvees have armor plate, there are other shortages, Logan said.  "Radios are an issue. Not all vehicles will [or are authorized] to have them," Logan wrote in the e-mail. "Any vehicle that doesn't have a radio will be embedded between other vehicles that do. We are only talking about a minuscule number at this point."

Logan said soldiers still rely on "family radio service" walkie-talkies, similar to citizens band radios, that soldiers buy at post exchanges to talk between vehicles.  "Good ol' FRS radios, not allowed, but everyone has them," Logan said. "We are working to get radios for all. It is a theater-wide problem."

Conti said there is no difference between weapons, Humvees and armor that the Army gives to regular Army or National Guard and reserve soldiers.  "There is no discretion between whether you are Army Guard, Army Reserve or active components," Conti said. "They are all treated the same. No matter where you come from, what state you come from, whether you're a guardsman or a reservist. They don't even look at that."  (TOM BOWMAN, Of The Patriot-News )

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December 14, 2004 - Battle of the Bulge Remembered 60 Years Later

By Donna Miles

American Forces Press Service

DIEKIRCH, Luxembourg, Dec. 14, 2004 — Veterans, service-members and government and military representatives are arriving here along the Belgium-Luxembourg border to begin a full week of events commemorating the 60th anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge.

Sixty years ago this week, Allied and German forces faced off in the Battle of the Ardennes, more commonly known as the Battle of the Bulge because of the "bulge" the Germans placed on the thinly held Allied lines in the region.

Commemoration events will include ceremonies, concerts, parades and wreath- layings, and planners say veterans should turn out in droves in what is expected to be an increasingly rare event as their numbers dwindle. Already, Bastogne is flying scores of U.S. and German flags in honor of its annual Battle of the Bulge observance on Dec. 18.

The Battle of the Bulge proved to be one of the largest and bloodiest battles of World War II — one that demonstrated the resolve of the U.S. Army despite being heavily outnumbered and faced with extraordinarily difficult circumstances.

In the winter of 1944, Germany was losing the war. The Allies had invaded France in June and were driving the Germans east. But Adolph Hitler, not about to accept his fate, had directed an ambitious counteroffensive as a desperate, last-ditch effort to halt the Allied advance that began six months earlier during the D-Day invasion.

He had hoped the offensive to be a turning point of the war in Germany's favor, but ultimately it turned out to be a disastrous mistake that claimed tens of thousands of lives.

During its four-week course, more than 1 million soldiers fought the battle: some 500,000 Americans, 600,000 Germans and 55,000 British. Each side lost more than 800 tanks, and the Germans lost 1,000 aircraft.

Some 30 Germany divisions launched the counteroffensive in the early morning hours of Dec. 16, 1944, against the Allies in the heavily forested Belgian Ardennes region. Besides being outnumbered, the Americans were taken by surprise, because at the time, the Ardennes was being used as a rest and recuperation area.

The front stretched 85 miles along the borders of Belgium and Luxembourg. U.S. units facing the main German offensive included the war-weary 26th Infantry Division, the unseasoned 106th and 99th divisions, the 2nd Division, an element of the 9th Armored Division, and some smaller units.

After a two-hour bombardment, the German forces had pushed back the Americans, using the element of surprise, lack of communication, their overwhelming numbers and bitter winter conditions to their advantage.

A huge snowstorm also worked against the Allies, who were unable to call in their air power to intervene.

On Dec. 22, Hitler sent a message to the acting commander of the 101st Airborne Division in Bastogne, U.S. Maj. Gen. Anthony McAuliffe, calling for his surrender. Despite being outnumbered and surrounded, McAuliffe made his now- famous response to Hitler's request: "Nuts!"

Later that day, the skies cleared, reinforcements were airdropped to McAuliffe's garrison, and Allied planes began their attack on German tanks.

On Dec. 23, the United States troops began their first counterattack on the southern flank of the Ardennes "bulge." The struggle between the Allies and the Germans continued until Jan. 16, 1944, after the Allies' original line in Ardennes was restored.

Military scholars attribute the U.S. victory on the battlefields of Belgium and Luxembourg to small-unit actions, which deprived the Germans of the key commodity they needed to win: speed.

On the first day of the attack, the U.S. 99th Infantry Division and 291st Combat Battalion held most of their ground against the German 6th Panzer Army, creating what would become the northern shoulder. Also significant, historians say, was the holding of St. Vith four days beyond the Germans' timetable by the 7th Armored Division, 106th Infantry Division, along with elements of the 9th Armored and 28th Infantry divisions.

British Prime Minister Winston Churchill later called the victory at the Battle of the Bulge one of the greatest of the war.

But that victory came at a tremendous cost, with the toll severe on both sides of the Atlantic. About 19,000 U.S. soldiers died, and 47,500 were wounded and more than 23,000 missing. The British suffered 1,400 casualties with 200 killed. And the Germans had 100,000 soldiers killed, wounded or captured.

Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz, in telling the story of the Battle of the Bulge last week to troops wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan, called it "part of a struggle that brought freedom to a huge part of the world in Europe and helped make this country much more safe and secure."

He told the troops that they're doing the same thing today, 60 years later, and that history will remember them and their sacrifices.

"It is a sacrifice that I believe your children and grandchildren will look back (on) and say, you were part of another great generation," Wolfowitz said.

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December 15, 2004 - Luxembourg Officials Thank Battle of Bulge Vets

CLERVAUX, Luxembourg — Luxembourg officials opened a weeklong lineup of ceremonies and observances throughout the Ardennes region here today by thanking about 100 veterans of the Battle of the Bulge for liberating them from their German occupiers 60 years ago.

|[pic]Former Army Spc. Carl Dalke, left, and former |

|Army Sgt. Pat Murphy, both veterans of the Battle of |

|the Bulge, pose in front of the GI Monument in |

|Clervaux, Luxembourg, honoring soldiers who liberated|

|Luxembourg 60 years ago from its Germany oppressors. |

|Photo by Donna Miles |

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Camille Kohn, president of CEBA, French acronym for a Battle of the Bulge research organization, told the veterans the nation feels "immense gratitude" for the American soldiers who liberated it after five years of oppression.

Kohn joined Clervaux Mayor Francis Stephany in laying flowers at the foot of the GI Monument during a solemn ceremony in the town center. The statue of a war-weary foot soldier was erected in the early 1980s to share the story of Clervaux's liberation with future generations, Kohn said. It represents "the immense gratitude we have borne in our hearts, carved into metal for all eternity," he told the veterans.

In overcoming the Germans, Kohn said the Americans conquered more than an enemy force. "You conquered the hearts of an oppressed people," he said. "And we are deeply indebted to the United States for all that your gracious nation did for us."

Stephany said his townspeople and countrymen have never forgotten the actions the U.S. military took six decades ago to free Luxembourg. He told the veterans — most now in their late 70s and 80s — that his nation remains grateful and "will never forgot those who paid the full price" of victory.

It's important for the Luxembourgers to share this message with younger generations so they too will understand the cost of freedom and recognize that oppression can't be permitted to stand, Stephany said.

It's a lesson as applicable today as 60 years ago, he said, particularly in light of the terrorist attacks on the United States on Sept. 11, 2001. "Now it's up to us to help sustain" the war against terrorism "so we can continue to live in freedom," he told the group.

Veterans at the ceremony, many with family members at their sides, said it was gratifying to receive heartfelt thanks for their actions during what many called a turning point in their lives.

"I went in and 18 and came out as an old man at 21," said former Army Spc. Carl Dalke, who served with the 101st Airborne Division in Bastogne, Belgium, during the Battle of the Bulge.

Dalke acknowledged that he and his fellow soldiers endured "gut-wrenching experiences" as they faced brutal weather conditions and limited food supplies while facing off against a massive German force. He still tears up as he remembers losing his best friend during the first week of the war, and called his visit to the 60th anniversary commemoration a fitting way to remember him and other 19,000 U.S. troops who died here.

Despite the heartaches associated with the war, Dalke said he "came away with a love" of the local people for helping him and other soldiers. He remembers with fondness the local people sharing food with the hungry troops, and taking their sheets off their beds so the soldiers could use them as camouflage against the snow.

Former Army Sgt. Pat Murphy was 18 when he served with the 78th Infantry Division during the Battle of the Bulge and admits that he "didn't think I'd live to see 19."

Now 78, Murphy said he felt it important to attend the commemoration as the number of World War II veterans dwindles. "Let's face it," he said with tears forming in his eyes, "this is probably our last big anniversary."

He said the visit is a way for him to remember the past "and to pay respect for all my buddies who were killed or badly wounded." Murphy considers himself "extremely lucky": 87 percent of his division was killed or wounded during the war.

Gus Swiersz, a staff sergeant with the 28th Infantry Division during the Battle of the Bulge, said the visit to the 60th anniversary commemoration was "much more emotional to me" than previous return visits to the region.

This time, he brought along his son and his 11-year-old grandson, Matthew, so they could relive with him his experiences as a squad leader who encountered what he believes were the opening shots of the campaign.

"We have three generations here," Swiersz said. "We're all experiencing this together." (By Donna Miles, American Forces Press Service)

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December 16, 2004 - Belgium honors Bulge vets

Bastogne, Belgium, Dec. 16 (UPI) -- There are not many places in Europe where the Stars and Stripes flutters from public buildings, where locals express their "Thanks to the Yanks" and where Americans are revered as saviors -- but the Belgian town of Bastogne is one of them.

If my children are free it is thanks to you," local resident Pascale Hane tells Ahren Jacobson, an 83-year old veteran in town for the 60th anniversary of the "Battle of the Bulge," Nazi Germany's last, desperate throw of the dice on the western front. "You are incredible. I can't believe what you did back then. You are real heroes."

The feeling is shared by many other Belgians in this Ardennes town that saw some of the fiercest and bloodiest fighting in World War II. "Bastogne says to you: thank you very much," reads a sign in one shop window. In the visitors' book of the Bastogne Historical Center, one local has written in French: "I have a great admiration for every one of the soldiers who came from so far to liberate us from the Germans." Another says simply: "We will never forget you."

The people of Bastogne and Belgium have every reason to feel grateful to the United States. On Dec. 16, 1944, the German army launched its last major counter-offensive of the war when a quarter of a million troops poured through a lightly defended gap in the Allied defenses. The Nazis' aim was to quickly take the lightly defended towns of the Ardennes Forest, seize the strategically important supply port of Antwerp, and drive a wedge between Allied forces in the Netherlands and northern France.

What the Wehrmacht did not count on was the U.S. Army's refusal to buckle under enormous pressure. Outnumbered by a ratio of three to one, badly equipped and often untested in combat, the soldiers of the 80,000-strong American Eighth Army Corps were completely taken by surprise in the early hours of Dec. 16.

James Manning, an 85-year old veteran of the North African and Sicilian campaigns, was one of thousands of troops from the 106th Infantry Division to surrender within days of the German onslaught. In the Ardennes for the first time in 60 years, along with over 200 ex-soldiers flown over by the Belgian government, Manning told United Press International: "Being here brings back memories of the fog and the cold. Apart from being captured, it is one of the worst things that can happen to you in wartime, because you lose your freedom to move."

Thomas Galante, 88, a combat engineer who served in the 28th Infantry Division, also remembers the freezing winter of 1944-45, when the mercury plunged to minus 10 degrees Fahrenheit and snow stopped supplies from arriving. "Most of the time during the Battle of the Bulge, I just complained of the cold. It brings back chilling memories -- in both senses of the word."

Galante, who landed in Europe 20 days after D-Day, says the feeling of being pushed back by the Germans in the early days of the Ardennes campaign was humiliating for U.S. troops used to victory. "In Normandy, we felt were winning. The Germans were on the run, and we went through them like sand through a sieve. But when they started chasing us, that's when we felt depressed."

Within a week, Bastogne was encircled as the Allied line bulged and Nazi troops pushed toward the River Meuse. "We can still lose this war," said Gen. George S. Patton, whose Third Army sped north from Lorraine to support the 101st Airborne Division in Bastogne. But Gen. Anthony McAuliffe, commander of the besieged garrison, refused to entertain the idea of defeat. On Dec. 22, 1944, the Germans delivered an ultimatum to the American troops holed up in Bastogne: surrender of face annihilation. McAuliffe's reply has entered the annals of history. "To the German commander: NUTS! The American commander."

By the end of January, German troops had been pushed back to their original positions -- but at a terrible cost. Almost one million American soldiers fought in the U.S. Army's biggest-ever military engagement and 80,000 were killed or wounded. Over 100,000 Germans also lost their lives in the frozen hills of the Ardennes, along with countless numbers of Belgian civilians.

Sixty years on, there are few signs of the devastation wrought by the war in the rolling countryside around Bastogne. But in the Henri-Chapelle cemetery outside the town, 7,992 Christian crosses and Stars of David pay tribute to the young American soldiers who died to free Europe from Nazi tyranny.

For veterans like Robert Reed, who was only 19 when he joined the anti-tank platoon of the 87th Infantry Division, these well-kept graves are more than just memorials; they are where friends and comrades rest in peace. "When my two buddies died in battle, I took it as a matter of fact. But when I see their crosses in the cemetery, it all comes flooding back," says the 79-year old, wiping a tear from his eye. "They were the best group of guys I have ever known."

On Saturday, King Albert II, actor Tom Hanks and a host of other dignitaries will honor Reed and hundreds of other veterans at a ceremony below the star-shaped Mardasson Memorial on the outskirts of Bastogne. The panels around the five sides of this hulking monument, which is inscribed with the names of the 50 U.S. states, tell a story of extraordinary heroism in extraordinary times. "Of those dead and of all those who fought here, the now living may attest the greatness of the deed only by increased devotion to the freedom for which they braved the fire."

Like many of the veterans almost certainly visiting Belgium for the last time, Reed wears his modesty like a badge of honor. "Sometimes I feel I am unworthy of this gratitude. I didn't do anything big," says the New Hampshire resident, who went on to fight in Japan in the dying months of the war. "But the Belgian people don't forget."

They certainly do not. On Bastogne's central square, which is dotted with bars like Nuts cafe, Grill McAuliffe and Patton's cafe, a gaggle of schoolchildren pose for photos with a group of veterans in front of a Sherman tank.

"The heart of the Bastogne is 200 percent behind the American people," says Olivier Delmee, president of the local tourist office. "I know some people in Europe think the U.S. Army is not doing a good job in Iraq, but the mindset here is totally different, because we know what the Americans did and the sacrifices they made." (By Gareth Harding, Chief European Correspondent - UPI)

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December 16, 2004 - Baptism by fire - Today marks 60th anniversary of WWII battle

DIAMOND VALLEY -- Sixty years ago today, John Curt Hodges was a 20-year-old soldier experiencing war for the first time.

His 106th Infantry Division was fresh off a boat from the United States when it was attacked by a seasoned German army. It happened near a town called St. Vith in eastern Belgium. It was an offensive that later became known as the Battle of the Bulge.

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Hodges, now 80, does not look old enough to have fought in World War II. Though he uses a wheelchair, he is still able to walk with a cane and his graying beard has plenty of dark whiskers.

The veteran lives in a brick house on a quiet hill overlooking Diamond Valley. He and his late wife built the area's second house in 1983. During Hodges' career in real estate, he helped fill the valley with more than 200 homes, something he now questions when he looks out across the once-empty landscape.

Questioning decisions was part of being in the 424th Regiment following the Battle of the Bulge. Hodges was a transport corporal in the 424th's heavy weapons company, part of the larger 106th Infantry Division. The 106th was attacked by German troops on Dec. 16, 1944, eventually wiping out the 422nd and the 423rd regiments. The 424th retreated.

According to historical accounts, many in the 424th questioned whether they did the right thing by pulling back and losing the ground they were trying to hold. But the same accounts praise the young troops for holding out as long as they did, fending off a massive German offensive against the untried division. The average age of the 106th was 22.

Among Hodges' war memorabilia is a pamphlet about the 106th, issued by the Army's Information and Education Services following the war. It describes the pre-battle atmosphere of the wooded, snow-covered ridge northeast of Luxembourg where the battle was fought.

The booklet read, "This was a quiet sector along the Belgium-Germany frontier. For 10 weeks there had been only light patrol activity and the sector was assigned to the 106th so it could gain experience. The baptism by fire that was to come was the first action for the 106th. For many of its men it would be the last."

At 5:40 a.m., 60 years ago today, the German forces attacked Hodges' division head on, surrounding the three regiments and destroying two of them. The Nazis kept moving up fresh troops to replace their wounded and dead, but for the 106th at St. Vith, there were no replacements.

"I'm a miracle man ... the fact that I'm sitting here," Hodges said.

The soldiers spent three days moving from foxhole to tree to bush, he said.

Though the 424th had to pull back, when reinforcements arrived they were given the honor of going back to retake the ground and, in effect, prevent a full German victory. The counter attack began on Christmas Eve.

"Cooks, office help, everyone picked up a rifle and we retook the ground we lost," Hodges said. "That broke the back of the German offensive."

As the battle raged, Hodges' division spent Christmas dodging bullets. Despite the conditions, the Army delivered a Christmas dinner with all the trimmings to increase morale.

"I don't know how they did it," Hodges said, his voice trembling and his eyes filling with tears. "I just don't know."

In order to get the food, each soldier had to sneak around, hiding behind trees to get to the building where the food was. Then they had to dash back out and hide behind another tree to eat.

"Incidentally, there weren't many guys who went back for seconds," Hodges said.

Christmas dinner was not the only reward they got that day. They also took the town of Manhay and held it. A month later they retook St. Vith.

During the battle, Hodges said the soldiers never went anywhere without their guns, gas masks and other equipment. He said they had to be ready for something to happen at any second.

As he spoke of his duties working in the mortar company, Hodges' eyes seemed much younger than his 80 years. They lit up as he described his work in detail, almost jumping out of his wheelchair at times.

The 106th's story is only part of the largest battle in Western Europe during World War II. When it was all over, 8,600 U.S. soldiers were dead and Germany had lost 17,000.

"You talk about war and that's a word," Hodges said. "You live it and it's something else now. It's entirely different." (Brian Passey, Spectrum, UT)

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December 18, 2004 - U.S. Soldiers at Battle of the Bulge Honored

BASTOGNE, Belgium — Amid snow flurries and a chilling wind, Belgium's King Albert II honored U.S. soldiers who died fighting Nazi Germany 60 years ago in the Battle of the Bulge, the largest land battle for American forces in war.

Veterans from across the United States returned Saturday to find this market town that was at the center of the fighting much as it was on that bitter cold December in 1944 — covered in snow and buffeted by wind.

The old soldiers, wearing military berets and caps, were greeted with warm applause, hugs and kisses from a grateful crowd that lined the streets.

"I'm very happy to see so many people come out for this event," said Miasy Dumont, 68, from nearby Ludelange, Luxembourg. "This is the last time I'm sure. In 10 years there will be no more veterans."

The king, joined by Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert (search), R-Ill, led a commemoration and laid wreaths at the vast Mardasson memorial on the edge of town. The ceremony paid homage to the 19,000 American soldiers killed and about 61,000 wounded in the largest land battle for U.S. forces in World War II. The fighting also claimed 120,000 German lives.

"All soldiers memorialized at this monument are part of the greatest generation," said U.S. Gen. James L. Jones (search), Supreme Allied Commander in Europe.

After the half-hour ceremony which included a U.S. honor guard from the 101st Airborne Division from Fort Campbell, Kentucky, veterans were driven by bus from the towering memorial back to the center of town.

Once there, they again enjoyed warm applause from crowds lining the main street to the town square and attended a sound and light show and a parade of World War II vehicles.

The day began with a parade of veterans, marching bands, World War II-era jeeps, trucks and ambulances through Bastogne. The vehicles rumbled past the town's central square, named for Anthony McAuliffe, the acting commander of the 101st Airborne division, whose paratroopers repulsed repeated attacks.

On Dec. 22, 1944, MacAuliffe was given two hours to surrender by the Germans or face "total annihilation." His now famous reply: "Nuts!"  A commemorative throwing of nuts was also to take place at the square.

There were guided walks along the defensive perimeter south of Bastogne that was relieved by Patton's Third Army, which rushed north from France to help defeat the Germans. The battle raged for six-weeks across the Ardennes hills of southern Belgium and Luxembourg, but the market town of 14,000 bore the brunt of the fighting.

"The American veterans who have returned 60 years later to the battle site represent those who gave their lives on our soil so that today we can live free," Bastogne Mayor Philippe Collard said in French at a memorial honoring U.S. General George S. Patton.

He added in English: "we will never forget. You are home here."

Rising out of the Champagne fields of northern France, the Ardennes highlands sweep across southeastern Belgium, cover much of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, then flow into western Germany's Eiffel range.

Sixty years ago, their valleys, trout streams and rolling hills were the scene of Hitler's last gamble. His panzer divisions smashed through the forests, catching the Allies by surprise and driving the front westward in a "bulge" that ran deep into Belgian territory.

There was so much destruction that its impossible to know exactly how many people were killed in action, how many went missing and how many were wounded.

The battle drew in more than a million troops — 600,000 Germans, 500,000 Americans and 55,000 Britons — who fought in bitter cold from Dec. 16, 1944, to Jan. 25, 1945.

The Veterans of the Battle of the Bulge in Arlington, Va., says 19,000 American troops died in the battle.

The Mardasson Memorial on the edge of Bastogne is built on the spot where German artillery bombarded the Americans in the town below, honoring the U.S. forces killed and wounded during the Ardennes offensive.

The memorial bears the names of U.S. Army units that participated in the action as well as the names of the then 48 U.S. States in bronze letters. There is also a plaque bearing a Latin inscription saying: "Liberatoribus Americanis Populus Belgicus Memor," or "The Belgian People Remember Their American liberators." [pic]

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December 18, 2004 - Crews bid Hueys goodbye

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|The Indiana National Guard has officially said|

|farewell to its workhorse UH-1 Huey |

|helicopters, described by one pilot as a |

|flying pickup truck. They were put into |

|service in Indiana in 1971. -- AFP / Getty |

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As a young boy growing up in Fairland, Tim Winslow was mesmerized as he watched the steady stream of UH-1 Huey helicopters flying in and out of the nearby Aviation Support Facility as they conducted operations for the Indiana National Guard.

Winslow, now a major in the Guard and a flight instructor at the Shelbyville base, was on hand last weekend at the Raytheon Hangar at Indianapolis International Airport, where he and more than 200 other Guard members and their families helped retire the Huey, which is being decommissioned after 40 years of service to the U.S. military.

The Huey, as much a symbol of the Vietnam War era as the jeep was to those who fought in World War II, holds a special place in the hearts of those who experienced its unforgettable sound and distinguishing physical characteristics.

After the war, the Huey became the workhorse of the National Guard in Indiana and around the country, where it provided support for many domestic operations, including flood and severe weather rescue as well as emergency medical transport. The Huey also was utilized for continuing military operations at Camp Atterbury in southern Johnson County.

"As you can see here today, the Huey is very closely associated with the Vietnam War; and with the number of Vietnam veterans that we have here today, it has turned out to be quite an emotional event," Winslow said last weekend.

"I have had the pleasure and the luxury of growing up in aviation around many of these veterans. Most are close, personal friends of mine, and I have had the honor of training with them over the years."

Winslow, who now flies the UH-60 Black Hawk, which has been phased in over the past several years, has a great appreciation and admiration for the Huey and its multiple applications.

"The main use of the Huey aircraft is basic utility," Winslow said. "I like to refer to it as a flying pickup truck."

The Huey saw its first action in Vietnam in 1962, when military planners determined that the Army needed a turbine-equipped aircraft to transport troops and supplies. Originally designed as a troop carrier, the Huey was then transformed into an airborne assault vehicle, fitted with rockets and a machine gun.

With its round nose, twin blades and distinctive "whomp, whomp" sound, the Huey was a mainstay in the U.S. war effort and transitioned smoothly into domestic operations when the first was put into service in Indiana in 1971.

Twenty-eight Hueys were in the local National Guard unit's fleet in 1984, and now only six remain, all of which will be sold and shipped overseas in the coming months.

Lew Collier, a retired flight instructor for the Indiana National Guard at the Shelbyville base, piloted the Huey in Vietnam. He then joined the Guard full time after graduating from Indiana University.  "I cut my eyeteeth on the Huey in 1968," Collier said.

"As Brigadier General Frank Wright said in his comments, it was 'high school to flight school' for many of us. It was either that or be drafted for many of us pilots."

Robert Leonard, a tactical operations officer for the aviation brigade who is also stationed out of Shelbyville, has logged thousands of hours in the Huey and was thrilled to have the opportunity to again see many old friends he served with in the past.

"This is a terrifically emotional day for a good many of us," he said.

"Many of these guys (and I) have been flying the Huey for 25-30 years. They have a long background and a lot of history together. It is a bit of a sad day but also a good day because we all get the opportunity to see each other again."

Just after 4 p.m., Leonard, along with copilot Robert Nash and crew chief John Antle, boarded the Huey in the blistering winds outside the Raytheon hangar for the aircraft's final flight, a return trip to the Shelbyville base.

The Huey's mission and service to the state became complete, as many in the crowd bid a tearful farewell to an icon of American military might. (Tim Phillips, Star correspondent, )

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[pic][pic][pic]December 19, 2004 - Camp Atterbury gives area troops taste of Iraq fight. Indiana 'Battleground' preps GIs for War

CAMP ATTERBURY, Ind. - Army Reserve Spec. Mike Kean peered around, his cold hands tightly gripping the handle of the M-249 machine gun resting atop his Humvee, number seven in a convoy of eight.

He was providing cover as one of his fellow soldiers from the 983rd Engineer Battalion slung a soldier killed in action over his shoulder. He watched as men and women screaming Arabic edged closer and closer to another vehicle in the convoy that had been disabled by an improvised explosive device.

He also kept his eye on a pickup in the distance that a fellow gunner had sprayed with bullets after he saw hooded men standing in the bed firing machine guns in their direction.

Specialist Kean, 25, of the 983rd's Company B, was submerged in a different world among the plywood structures, barrel fires, and other conditions similar to those found in many small, rural Iraqi villages.

But the Monroe man wasn't in the Persian Gulf. He really was not that far from home.

On the 33,000-acre grounds of the Camp Atterbury Joint Maneuver Training Center in Edinburgh, a small Indiana town about 20 miles south of Indianapolis and a 4 1/2-hour drive from Toledo, Specialist Kean and the other soldiers of the 983rd were being trained to deal with what they might encounter in Iraq.

And for members of the 983rd Engineering Battalion, Iraq - not home -is their next stop.

"This is the real deal. It's what we've trained for and what will keep us alive," Specialist Kean, the father of a 2-year-old boy, said of the convoy exercises that employ civilians, including Iraqi nationals, to act as villagers and insurgents.

The situation that Specialist Kean and his fellow soldiers encountered on a recent brisk afternoon in southern Indiana is something American forces are confronted with in Iraq every day. But in the war of Iraq, there are no blanks used, and no fake bombs.

In Iraq, when civilians approach a soldier, they could be a threat. In Iraq, when roadside bombs detonate, soldiers sometimes die.

"You control that battlefield over there; don't let them," Master Sgt. David Fields, an Army trainer, told members of Company B after the training exercise. "Watch out for each other, correct each other. Do your piece of the puzzle. If everybody does their piece of the puzzle, we'll get out of there."

The 983rd, which has an authorized force of 630, was mobilized this summer and reported to Camp Atterbury in late October. The battalion's headquarters and one company are based in Monclova Township. Another company is based in Lima, Ohio, and a third in Southfield, Mich.

The group is expected to be sent to Iraq before the end of this month for a one-year deployment - the unit's first deployment in an armed conflict since World War II.

The engineer battalion will serve as support for reconstruction efforts, such as building roads and infrastructure in Iraqi cities.

Also training at Camp Atterbury are about 480 members of the Ohio Army National Guard's 612th Engineer Battalion, based in Walbridge with companies in Tiffin and Norwalk, and the Ohio National Guard 211th Maintenance Company based in Newark, Ohio.

Capt. Mickey Avalos, 36, of Swanton is commander of the 983rd headquarters company. The assistant principal at Bedford High School, Captain Avalos said his troops have undergone significant training to prepare them for war. A reservist since 1990, Captain Avalos saw action overseas as a lieutenant during Operation Desert Storm. Many of his soldiers, he said, have not.

That's why the reservists have spent more than a month firing weapons, assisting simulated wounded soldiers, and learning demolition techniques at Camp Atterbury.

The camp is one of two training facilities in the country that have been mobilized to prepare troops for Iraq and Afghanistan, said Maj. Mike Brady, the camp's public affairs officer. Since February, 2003, the training center has deployed more than 17,300 National Guard and Army Reserve soldiers.

The training center also has provided support training and facilities for other military service branches, including the Navy SEALs, Marines, and Air Force, as well as local law enforcement and first responders.

On the defensive live fire range at Camp Atterbury, Spec. Sharon Stewart, 24, of Toledo dropped to the ground with her M-16A2 in hand and shot at pop-up targets in the distance. She emptied her magazine - 20 rounds - and looked back as squad leader Sgt. Richard Hatch ran behind her asking soldiers how much ammunition they had left.

"We're black," he told his soldiers, referring to the military term signifying less than 10 percent of ammunition is left.

"We're toast. Get your bayonets out," he joked.

Sergeant Hatch, 36, a husband, father of two young children, and surgical technologist at St. Charles Mercy Hospital in Oregon, said training is where the kinks are worked out.  "We try to get as much training as possible in what little time we have," the Lambertville resident said.

Specialist Stewart, an Owens Community College nursing student, said the training has been vital in preparing her and her fellow soldiers for what lies ahead in Iraq. The mother of a 21-month-old son, she said she's convinced her battalion will be successful overseas and is confident everybody will return home safely.  But she knows she won't be home for Christmas, a reality she's still getting used to, just as her aunt is getting used to caring for her toddler while she is deployed.

"In terms of training, I'm ready," said the 1998 graduate of St. Ursula Academy. "Mentally, it's still kind of unbelievable that I'm going."

Lt. Col. Kevin McLinn, commander of the entire 983rd Battalion, returned recently from a two-week trip to Iraq, where he was briefed on how to ensure a "seamless" transfer of power from the Cincinnati-based 512th Engineering Battalion that soon will be on its way home.

"Everybody is waiting to hear what I learned: 'How is the food? What are the living conditions? Did I get shot at?'" said Colonel McLinn, 44, of Indianapolis.

"The food is fantastic, and no, I actually never got shot at," he said.

Major Brady said the Army constantly updates training exercises based on feedback from soldiers serving in Iraq. This gives newly deployed soldiers the chance to anticipate what lies ahead.

For members of the 983rd, who last saw their families over Thanksgiving, the lessons learned at Camp Atterbury are designed to keep them alive.

"This type of training has been brought on by experiences of soldiers right out of the country," said Staff Sgt. Michael Bodine, 39, formerly of Clyde, Ohio, and now a resident of Fort Wayne, Ind. "It's vital to integrate this into training."

On the grounds of the mock Iraqi village, more than a dozen people stood around waiting for the first convoy of Humvees to drive through. The civilians on the battlefield - are contracted by the military to serve as actors creating situations soldiers will come across in Iraq.

The soldiers drove through once, weapons ready, and were greeted by a waving and cheering crowd. Some soldiers waved back.

The second time through, however, things turned nasty.

There was an explosion simulating a roadside bomb and training officers stopped one of the convoy vehicles. "You've just been killed," a soldier was told.

Hiding in the plywood structures, actors portraying Iraqi villagers recognized their cue to approach the convoy to verbally harass and physically confront the soldiers.

Raisan Al Shimray, a tall and imposing man, led the way. Mr. Al Shimray left Iraq after Saddam Hussein's forces invaded Kuwait in 1990. After spending nearly eight years in Saudi Arabia, Mr. Al Shimray came to the United States. He became an American citizen on Aug. 7, 2003.

This fall, while working at a Cracker Barrel Old Country Store and Restaurant in Kentucky, Mr. Al Shimray learned from a friend that the Army was looking for civilians to help train soldiers. He signed up, and has been teaching his fellow actors Arabic words to make the training more authentic.

"I want to give you help," Mr. Al Shimray told the 983rd soldiers as he approached them during the convoy exercise.

Sgt. Shane Sanderson, the platoon sergeant, asked him to back up, yelling above the jeering crowd that his soldiers "will be out of your area in a minute" and to "please be patient, please give us room."

Mr. Al Shimray said he saw the perplexed look on many soldiers' faces during the exercise. Though it was just training, the gravity of the situation was clearly not lost on the participating soldiers.

Nonetheless, Mr. Al Shimray was able to pull a big smile out of Sergeant Sanderson, who carried an unloaded M-4, a shorter version of the M-16A2 rifle. In between several loud outbursts in Arabic, Mr. Al Shimray jokingly repeated in a thick accent:

"Please don't shoot me. Please don't shoot me." (ERICA BLAKE, )

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December 22, 2004 - 60 years ago in a war far away

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BASTOGNE, Belgium — The sweet high-tenor voice filled the little chapel at Henri-Chapelle Cemetery with "The Star-Spangled Banner," but the words were in an unfamiliar tongue. Roland, an elderly Belgian gentleman, told me proudly: "I sang this for Gen. Eisenhower when he came here in 1945, but I was only a little boy then. When the Americans arrived, it was paradise."

    A Vietnam War veteran with long white hair and in a black leather jacket, standing nearby, did not try to hide his tears as he strained to hear the French words — "O, Regardez dans la clarte du matin ("O, say can you see by the dawn's early light").

    Henri-Chapelle Cemetery lies on the road from Liege, Belgium to Aachen, Germany. It is not far from Bastogne, a small town whose name is seared, like Gettysburg and Chancellorsville, in the soul and sinew of America. The cemetery is the last resting place of 7,992 American soldiers. Most of them died trying to repulse the German offensive known by us as the Battle of the Bulge, for the great bulge in the American lines. Europeans call it the Battle of the Ardennes, for the great forest surrounding the town.

    There are 14 such World War II sites maintained abroad by the American Battle Monuments Commission, created by an act of Congress in 1923. Use of the permanent cemetery sites on foreign soil was granted in perpetuity by the host governments to the United States, free of cost, rent and taxation. In the Ardennes area, there are three cemeteries of American dead. The American flag flies above all of them; the dead can sleep in American soil.

    We had come, a group of travel writers from the United States, along with dozens of World War II veterans and their families, to honor those who had fallen in the cold, bloodstained, forested hills of the Ardennes in Belgium and in Luxembourg. At Henri-Chapelle, there are rows and rows of white Christian crosses and Stars of David, arranged in broad sweeping curves on a gently sloping lawn.

    The veterans fanned out among the graves to look for the names of comrades fallen 60 years ago in one of the fiercest and costliest battles of the war.

    Belgian veterans were there, too. One of them told me, with great pride, that when the Germans arrived, all of the 100 young men of his village were ordered to join the German army. To a man, they refused. To a man, they were sent to work camps to labor as slaves. Some survived; many did not.

    As the busloads of veterans arrived, they were greeted by dozens of schoolchildren, waving small American flags and chanting, "Wel-come, wel-come, wel-come." Belgian schoolchildren of the Ardennes are taught to care for the graves of the fallen Americans, and to honor the Allied dead who gave their lives to free Europe from the Nazi yoke. The local community is involved in keeping the memory of the battle alive.

    A woman read a moving poem entitled "Freedom Is Not Free," which she had composed for the commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the battle. Anthems were sung, short speeches made. Sixty years is a long time, but these men, Americans and Belgians alike, have not forgotten the liberation of Belgium and Luxembourg. Many are veterans of "the longest day" on the beaches of Normandy who fought their way from June 6, 1944, through the summer, autumn and winter into 1945. The insignia on their jackets tells the tale.

    The Battle of the Bulge began Dec. 16, 1944, when a formidable assembly of German tanks, guns and men, including the dreaded SS Panzer division under the command of Gen. Karl Rudolf Gerd von Rundstedt, crashed through the forest against the thinly held American lines. Adolf Hitler's theory was that the Allied invasion could be halted and that British and American forces could be divided, enabling his army to cross the River Meuse, capture Brussels and the port of Antwerp before the Americans could react.

    The Americans fought valiantly with extraordinary courage. The battle began in a blizzard and did not end until Jan. 28, 1945. It was the final great German offensive of World War II. The ground was frozen; those who died in the forest often were buried beneath nothing but a mound of leaves, with a boot or hand thrust through the snow to mark where they died.

    Foxholes dug by American soldiers in the forest east of Bastogne and markings on trees skinned by artillery remain undisturbed, a living testament to those who fought there.

    A walk through the now silent forest is like a visit to carefully preserved battlefields at Antietam and Manassas — an elegiac reminder of what the days and nights of battle must have been like for friend and foe alike. The Ardennes campaign, fought along with British, Canadian, Free French and Belgian troops, eventually claimed 80,000 American dead and wounded and more than 100,000 Germans killed, wounded or captured. Eighty-six of the Americans were slain Dec. 17, 1944, when the Germans lined them up in a meadow near Malmedy and cut them down with machine guns.

    In Bastogne, the American 101st Airborne Division held the overwhelmingly superior numbers of Germans at bay until Allied reinforcements, led by Gen. George S. Patton Jr., raced to relieve them and turn the tide of battle. It was here that Gen. Anthony McAuliffe uttered his famous rejoinder, "Nuts," in reply to the German demand for his surrender.

    

    NUTSCAFE

    Bastogne still has a certain charm, despite heavy damage incurred in the war. A Sherman tank in the middle of McAuliffe Square is a magnet for boys to climb and crawl over the tank. The cafes surrounding the square bear names like Grill McAuliffe, Nuts Cafe and Patton's Cafe.

    Every year, on the Saturday closest to Dec. 16, the mayor of Bastogne throws nuts from the balcony of the City Hall in honor of Gen. McAuliffe, a native of Washington who died in 1975. This year, for the 60th anniversary on Dec. 16, the town expects to parade 300 Allied vehicles.

    On Mardasson Hill, the Hill of Heroes, on the outskirts of Bastogne, stands a splendid memorial in the form of a star, representing the tribute of the Belgian people to the Allied, and particularly American, soldiers killed, wounded or missing in action during the liberation of the town and villages in the Battle of the Ardennes.

    The story of the battle is inscribed on the interior walls of the memorial; the names of the units that participated in the battle are listed on the exterior columns alongside their unit insignia. A walkway along the top of the memorial permits visitors to see the site of the battle.

    Belgian and American veterans gathered at Mardasson on this past Memorial Day to commemorate the upcoming 60th anniversary of the battle. Brenda B. Schoonover, the charge d'affaires of the U.S. Embassy in Brussels, gave a moving speech pointing out that "honoring the dead would give meaning to our own lives"; the town choir sang, and 50 Belgian soldiers lined the walkway atop of the memorial and unfurled the flags of the 50 American states.

    A museum at the Mardasson site commemorates the battle, with exhibits of authentic uniforms and weapons, and lifelike dioramas of war, both civilian and military. A 30-minute film brings the battle to life once again. Both Gen. McAuliffe and German Gen. Hasso von Manteuffel were consultants to the museum.

    

    PEACEWOOD

    Nearby is the Peace Wood, where trees have been laid out in the pattern of the UNICEF symbol of mother and child. The names of fallen veterans are inscribed on plaques at the base of individual trees.

    The Ardennes battles did not take place in Belgium alone, but ranged over the adjoining Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, as well. Many small towns were destroyed in the fighting.

    Luxembourg did not have an army (except for a volunteer army used in ceremonial functions only) and had always declared itself to be neutral. The night before the May 10, 1940, German invasion of Luxembourg, the grand ducal family and Cabinet went into exile in the United States, Canada and England.

    The Germans incorporated Luxembourg into the Third Reich and its name ceased to exist as it became the Mosel Country District (Gau Moselland) from then until the liberation. In a referendum organized by the Nazis, 98 percent of the population voted against becoming German citizens, resulting in considerable reprisals against the population.

    

    GEN. PATTON

    Luxembourg remains devoted to its liberator, Gen. Patton, whose life-size sculpture stands, binoculars in hand, in Ettelbruck in northern Luxembourg, which the 3rd Army liberated on Christmas Day, 1944. The statue is a copy of one at West Point. Gen. Patton, who died of injuries suffered in a traffic accident shortly after the war, is buried in Luxembourg with his soldiers in the American Cemetery.

    The cemetery is in a glade, framed by spruce, beech and oak trees. On the terrace above the graves are two large rectangular pylons. The outer sides are inscribed with names, rank, organization and state of entry into service of 371 members of the U.S. Army missing in action. On the inner face of each pylon, a large operations map is carved into the granite. The west pylon contains a map of operations in Western Europe from the Normandy landings to the end of the war; the east pylon shows a map of the Ardennes and the Rhineland campaigns, including the Battle of the Bulge.

    Set into the granite paving at the center of the memorial terrace overlooking the gravesites are Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower's dedication of the Roll of Honor in St. Paul's Cathedral in London: "All who shall hereafter live in freedom will be here reminded that to these men and their comrades we owe a debt to be paid with grateful remembrance of their sacrifice and with the high resolve that the cause for which they died shall live eternally."

    More than 5,000 American military dead are buried in the Luxembourg cemetery, including a woman Army nurse. In 22 instances, two brothers rest side by side. At the front of the memorial, two flagpoles overlook the grave of Gen. Patton. Those buried in the cemetery are heroes to the Luxembourgers; there is no vandalism in the cemetery.

    A German cemetery is also in the vicinity, and German bodies are still occasionally unearthed in the battlefields. The resourceful Luxembourgers, who volunteered their bedsheets as camouflage for the Allied soldiers during the winter of 1944, now use the German remnants of the war for more practical purposes: a German rocket launcher has become a rain gutter; detonating cord is now a yellow rope used for hanging out washing.

    Through more than 1,000 photographs, the General Patton Memorial Museum in Ettelbruck documents the German invasions in May 1940, the occupation of Luxembourg and the liberation of the country by the Americans. The museum also exhibits many of the weapons excavated during the past few years on the Ardennes battlefields.

    Diekirch, near Ettelbruck, is home to the fascinating National Museum of Military History that curator Roland J. Gaul oversees with unflagging dedication. The museum is dedicated to an impartial, balanced and objective representation of the historical facts of the Battle of the Bulge from three aspects of the conflict — the American, the German and the civilian.

    The museum, in a former brewery, contains an extraordinary collection of weaponry, uniforms and armored vehicles, but its key attraction lies in the selection of dioramas representing various aspects of life during the battle. The most dramatic tableau depicts troops of the 3rd Army about to cross the icebound Sauer River on Jan. 18, 1945 to liberate Diekirch.

    The museum is a favorite for returning veterans. When a group of visitors spoke with admiration and thanks to one such American veteran, he replied, "No, no; the guys who didn't come home are the real heroes."

    Luxembourg is a lovely part of middle Europe. In the northern part of the country lie the forested Ardennes hills; in the south are rolling farmlands, woods and the valley of the Moselle River; in the extreme south is the mining district. The capital, Luxembourg City, is a vibrant, cosmopolitan center.

    The national language, Letzebuergesch, is a strange combination of French and German, but distinct from and incomprehensible to both. The country is trilingual: French, the language of official and cultural activities, German and Letzebuergesch. English is widely spoken.

    Luxembourg was originally settled by Neolithic and Celtic tribes. The Romans arrived in the first century A.D. By the 12th century, the counts of Luxembourg ran the country and from 1308 to 1437, the House of Luxembourg held the throne of the Holy Roman Empire. Subsequently, Luxembourg fell under French, Austrian, Spanish and German rule until its independence in 1868. Since then it has been a constitutional monarchy.

    Vianden is one of the country's pretty villages, crowned with the ruins of an old castle. The Americans had used the ruins as a reconnaissance post during the Battle of the Bulge and made their headquarters in a now delightful hotel in the center of the town. Vianden's young people helped as couriers.

    

    RUINSINTACT

    Like the Viet Cong system of underground tunnels in a later war, so, too, in Vianden there was a system of tunnels linking the castle with the town. The Germans attacked the castle in November 1944 but retreated because of the number of casualties. The natives proudly said after the war: "The town is in ruins, but the ruins are intact."

    The castle was restored in 1977 and now receives about 200,000 visitors annually. The town holds a festival in the castle each August and hosts a nut market in October.

    Luxembourg City, however, is the country's main attraction, the capital as well as the seat of the European Community. It was founded at a Roman crossroads in the 10th century by Count Sigefroi, who bartered some of his land for a Roman fortress called Lucilinburhuc. He built his castle high up atop a sandstone rock, above steep walls overlooking two valleys, and erected a defensive wall around his castle.

    Legend has it that Count Sigefroi married Melusine, a beautiful river mermaid. The count did not know that his wife was a mermaid, and to protect her secret she assumed her fish tail only on Saturdays, a day when she told her husband he could not see her. Curiosity, of course, made him spy on her, and she vanished into the rock on which the castle was built.

    Once every seven years Melusine returns, either as a serpent with a golden key in its mouth or as a beautiful woman. She will not win her freedom from the imprisoning rock until someone is brave enough to kiss the woman or take the key from the mouth of the serpent. So far, no one has come forward, and she knits a stitch a year. When the garment is finished, all of Luxembourg will vanish into the rock with her.

    Melusine, with two tails, also appears as a figure in German and Scandinavian coats of arms. A French legend has her married to Raymond of Poitou with the same secluded Saturdays. He too peeked, but she forgave him. When, however, he called her a "serpent" in front of his court, she assumed the form of a dragon and flew off, never to return.

    The fortresses of Luxembourg City have been replaced by parks. The ruins of one of them have been incorporated into the new Museum of Modern Art of the Fortress. The Old Town, at the foot of the rock on the banks of the rambling river, was built from the 11th to the 19th centuries and has charming little houses and a splendid abbey, which the Germans used as a prison. It is being turned into an artists' center.

    The city has many fine museums, a beautiful cathedral, an imposing Ducal Palace, several good restaurants and a sensational pastry shop, the Patisserie Oberweis, which makes chocolates to rival the best of Belgium and pastries equal to the best of France.

    The Kirchberg area is a stunning modern industrial area, primarily of banks but also home of the General Secretariat of the European Parliament. Although the area is somewhat lifeless, the architecture of the buildings and the beautiful sculpture by such world-famous artists as Frank Stella and Richard Serra makes it worth a visit.

    On the way back to Brussels, a visitor should stop in Clervaux to see the permanent installation of the "Family of Man" exhibit created by Luxembourg-born photographer Edward Steichen for the Museum of Modern Art in New York. The exhibit is housed in the 12th-century Castle of Clervaux and continues, despite the suffering of World War II, to serve as a message of hope for mankind.     

    

    Dulles to Brussels, then to hotels

    United Airlines offers the only daily nonstop flight between Washington Dulles International Airport and Brussels. From Brussels, it's an easy drive to the Ardennes and Bastogne. From Paris, it's a short trip via the comfortable high-speed Thalys trains to Brussels. RailEurope (phone 888/382-7245 or visit ) can arrange tickets prior to departure from the United States. The company can provide individual tickets, reservations or special rail passes.

    ACCOMMODATIONS

    Brussels offers hotels in all categories. Le Meridien, Carrefour de l'Europe, 1000 Brussels (phone 32-2-420-1000, is a conveniently located hotel across from the railroad station, with comfortable, modern rooms. Hotel Amigo, rue de l'Amigo 1-3, 1000 Brussels, Belgium (32-2-547-4747), around the corner from Grand Place in the center of the city, is a Rocco Forte hotel that has been completely renovated and is small and elegant.

    In the Ardennes, the Auberge la Grande Cure, 12 les Planesses, 6987 Marcourt, Belgium (32-84-47-73-69), is an attractive seven-room inn with a first-rate kitchen. It is convenient to the sites of the Battle of the Bulge and for winter sports, as well.

    BATTLE OF THE BULGE

    Belgium and Luxembourg are preparing special celebrations for the 60th anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge in December. For more information, contact the Belgian Tourist Bureau (212/758-8130 or ) or the Luxembourg Tourist Bureau (212/935-5896 or ). Walking and driving tours around the battlefields are explained in brochures available through the tourist offices.

    Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery, rue de Memorial Americain 57, 4852 Nombourg, Belgium; 32-87-68-71-73;

    Luxembourg American Cemetery, 50 Val du Scheid, L-2517 Luxembourg; 352-43-17-27

    American Battle Monuments Commission, 2300 Clarendon Blvd., Arlington, VA 22201 (703/696-6900 or )

    National Museum of Military History, Roland J. Gaul, Curator, 10 Bamertal, L-9209 Diekirch, Luxembourg (352-80-89-08 or nat-military-museum.lu)

    Bastogne Historical Center, Colline du Mardasson, B-6600 Bastogne, Belgium (32-61-21-14-13 or bastognehistoricalcenter.be)

By Corinna Lothar

SPECIAL TO THE WASHINGTON TIMES

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December 23, 2004 — A soldier from a local Army Reserve unit was among those killed Tuesday in Iraq when an explosion tore through a U.S. military base mess tent.

Sgt. 1st Class Paul D. Karpowich, 30, a member of the Army Reserve 98th Division based in Rochester, died from injuries caused by the attack in Mosul. The explosion killed 22 people, many of them Americans, and left about 69 people wounded.

Karpowich, who was married, was a Pennsylvania native who lived in Bridgeport, Pa. — just northwest of Philadelphia — said Maj.Timothy Hansen, spokesman for the 98th.

"He was full of life, and he had a great sense of humor," said Hansen, who met Karpowich while the unit was at Camp Atterbury in Indiana before being deployed to Iraq in mid-November. "He was a professional. He had his act together. The Army clicked with that guy."

No other members of the 98th were injured, Hansen said. He said he did not have additional information.

The 98th is a unit of about 3,300 citizen soldiers that draws from New York, New Jersey and all of New England. Members traditionally train reserve and active-duty soldiers. About 700 members have been deployed to Iraq to help train the Iraqi army.

The Iraqi mission was the unit's first overseas deployment as a division since World War II.

Karpowich had been in the Army for 13 years as an active and reserve member. He began his military career as a paratrooper with the 82nd Airborne Division based in Fort Bragg, N.C.

"I liked the confidence he exuded," Hansen said. "He volunteered for that mission (Iraq). I give him a lot of credit for that." (Rochester (NY) Democrat and Cronicle)

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December 24, 2004 - Lansing office workers to play Santa Claus for Army platoon.

LANSING, Mich. (AP) -- A group of office workers is bringing Christmas to a platoon of Army reservists scheduled to leave Sunday for the Middle East.

Members of the 983rd Engineer Battalion based in Southfield, which includes soldiers from Michigan and Wisconsin, were given 48-hour leave for the holiday, but were not allowed to travel more than 50 miles from their training site at Camp Atterbury, Ind.

That meant most of the soldiers would be unable to get home for Christmas. Many planned to stay on the base 30 miles south of Indianapolis.

"We decided if they couldn't come home for Christmas, we would take Christmas to them," Carolanne Kapp of Dansville, whose son, Spc. Charles Kapp, 19, is a member of the platoon, told the Lansing State Journal for a recent story.

She and her fellow employees in the billing department at Mid-Michigan Physicians in Lansing decided to adopt the 30 members of the platoon for the holiday.

"I told my son to ask the men and women in the platoon to each list one thing they would like for Christmas," Kapp said. "When I didn't get the list, we bought things that the family readiness program recommended."

Kapp delivered those items to the soldiers last week. Then her son came through with the requested list.

So the department's 25-member staff did some more shopping. The requested items included DVDs, CDs, books, headphones and a cribbage board.

Most of the items were things the soldiers will share.

"They weren't thinking entirely of themselves," said Kapp, who traveled to Indiana to deliver the items on Thursday. "They asked for things they can put in a community pool for everyone to enjoy.

Jamie Galloway of Lansing sported an elf cap as she joined her fellow employees to wrap the gifts Wednesday morning.

"I think it's wonderful that we're able to do this," she said. "It's a way to prove our support to the people who are going over to the Middle East and putting their lives on the line." (Detroit Free Press, MI)

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December 27, 2004 - Thank you from soldier stirs inquiry.

HAMMOND — When Nicole Carlin printed notes in April 2003 to accompany care packages for soldiers from Northwest Indiana serving in the Middle East, she thought she might get a letter from Iraq.

Nineteen months after the packages left Crown Point on the back of a Salvation Army truck, Carlin got her first response — from a soldier in Edinburgh, Ind.

The letter, postmarked Dec. 6, 2004, caught Carlin by surprise.

“At first I was excited, then I was like, 'Wait a minute, this is from Camp Atterbury,’ ” Carlin said. “Why didn’t the package go overseas?”

County officials who spearheaded Operation Compassion are wondering the same thing.

Lake County Veterans Affairs director Ernie Dillon said businesses and county departments donated money and goods such as anti-bacterial soap, sunscreen, toilet paper, body lotion and medicated foot powder in spring 2003 with the understanding they would get to Indiana natives on the front lines.

“When we did this over a year ago, it was our intention that these packages end up in the hands of the troops in combat zones,” Dillon said.

Lake County’s Operation Compassion was part of a statewide program by the Salvation Army.

Maj. Roger Ross, Lake County coordinator for the Salvation Army, initially said the soldier at Camp Atterbury must have been given a lone package from Lake County that somehow got left behind at the organization’s central depot when the rest of the 1,500 boxes were put on a plane.

But Ross subsequently said the Lake County Salvation Army only carried the packages as far as Indianapolis, when the items became wards of the state Salvation Army and eventually the military.

“We fulfilled our obligation in terms of getting the packages into the military pipeline,” Ross said. “The important thing is, the packages got into the hands of soldiers who need them.”

Jo Ann Remender, the state Salvation Army’s assistant development director, said the organization shipped about 18,000 care packages to soldiers in the Middle East in 2003.

Other packages were sent to Camp Atterbury, Remender said.

But Lake County Veterans Service coordinator Patricia Amerski said the Salvation Army clearly understood the packages from Lake County were meant to go overseas.

“We made a bunch of banners, to the troops on the war front, and had school kids and county employees sign them,” Amerski said. “This had nothing to do with the home front.”

This fall the county sponsored the campaign, “Let U.S. Not Forget,” to send another round of packages to soldiers in Iraq. But when the letter arrived from the soldier at Camp Atterbury, Amerski said she decided to hire a private company to ship the goods, rather than the Salvation Army.

Dillon said he hopes Operation Compassion’s original intent can still be honored, even if money must be raised locally to get the care packages shipped to the front.

“My understanding was that somebody overseas was going to enjoy those packages from Northwest Indiana, and my hope is that can still be the case,” Dillon said. “Whatever needs to be done to complete this mission, let’s do it.” ( Hammond, IN)

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December 28, 2004 - Iraqis help American troops prepare for battle

EDINBURGH, Ind. (AP) As American soldiers attempted to tow a Humvee hit by a fake roadside bomb, Saleh Thanon, an Iraqi national, taunted them with insults.

''Criminal, get out of my country!'' Thanon yelled in Arabic, heckling the troops in a mock Iraqi village. ''I don't want you in my country. You're killing people.''

Harsh words for someone who professes to love America, but Thanon is just doing his job. He's training troops for Iraq, and he wants them to be ready.

The Army has been using Iraqi nationals to help troops develop language and cultural skills since the invasion of that country in March 2003. They are among about 1,000 Arabic speakers the Army uses for training, said Bob Close, spokesman for U.S. Army Forces Command.

At least eight mobilization stations are using Iraqis to help Guard, reserve and active troops prepare for deployments, Close said. Among them are Camp Atterbury, 30 miles south of Indianapolis; the Joint Readiness Training Center at Fort Polk, La., and the National Training Center at Fort Irvine, Calif.

Some days, the Iraqis play welcoming townspeople, friendly mayors or Iraqi police; on others, they portray terrorists or hostile villagers.

The training represents a change in philosophy for the military, said David R. Segal, director of the Center for Research on Military Organization at the University of Maryland. Army troops have long received language help as they prepared for battle, but cultural training was nonexistent in such conflicts as the Vietnam War, he said.

Winning over the Iraqi people, who play a key role in this mission, is crucial to success, Segal said. ''This is a war where cultural knowledge may be more important than the number of bullets that you have,'' he said.

Many of the participating Iraqis immigrated to the United States after the 1991 Persian Gulf War to escape oppression under Saddam Hussein's regime. Some are now American citizens.

Their work with U.S. troops is coordinated by defense contractors such as Goldbelt Eagle, which is paid $15 million to provide role players at five military bases. President Wayne Smith said applicants typically hear about the jobs through word of mouth or recruiters.

All participants must pass rigorous screenings by a private investigator and the government.

Thanon and his friend Salim Alshimary said they sought the work to help their homeland.

''I love this job, trying to help the U.S. military understand my language and my culture and save lives, both of them, the Iraq and the U.S.,'' Thanon said.

Alshimary, 36, of Basra, Iraq, said he deserted from the Iraqi Army after the 1990 invasion of Kuwait. He believes he would have been killed if he had not left the country.

He has been surprised by the postwar violence in his homeland.

''We never thought this bad stuff would happen,'' he said. ''We thought it would be easy and it will be very quick.''

It has been neither, which makes understanding the Iraqi culture essential, participants said.

Thanon, who attended Basra University and coached soccer in Iraq, advises the troops to not touch women and not to yell at children; both actions perceived as disrespectful.

In one scenario, he pretends to be the head of a household who won't cooperate with the troops unless they are polite.

''That way, I will help you get into my house and search my house and be friendly,'' Thanon said.

''We know the Americans go over to help us, but there are some people in Iraq that can't understand that because they see them do things in different ways.''

Segal said those cultural differences were evident in the media portrayal last month of the shooting of a wounded and apparently unarmed man by a Marine in a Fallujah mosque.

The Arabic media expressed outrage that the Marines wore boots in the mosque a taboo in the Muslim faith. The issue was hardly mentioned in the American media, Segal said.

Maj. Gen. Bruce Robinson, commander of the 98th Division, which recently deployed from Camp Atterbury to help train the Iraqi military, said the cultural lessons have been beneficial.

''We go in as guests to a host country and poised to respect the cultures and customs of that culture,'' Robinson said. (By Kimberly Hefling, Associated Press)

November 1, 2004 - Local Guard Unit Gets First-Ever Combat Support Mission

 

A Newark-based Ohio Army National Guard company is taking on an overseas combat support role for the first time in the unit’s history.  About 200 members of the 211th Maintenance Company said their official goodbyes Sunday afternoon, three days before actually deploying for training, then heading to the Persian Gulf region.  A large sendoff ceremony was held at Adena Hall on the Newark campus of the Ohio State University.

 

"During this deployment, you will get to know your fellow soldiers extremely well.  And together, only together as a team, will you be able to fully accomplish your mission," First Lieutenant John Frye told the unit under his command before an audience of hundreds.

 

On Wednesday, the 211th first goes to Camp Atterbury in southern Indiana for training.  Then they ship off to Kuwait where they will take part in additional exercises before heading north into Iraq.  The 211th’s mission will be the maintenance and repair of vehicles and equipment for military use in Iraq. (WBNS TC, Newark, OH)

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November 2, 2004 - Sysco extends contract with Defense Department

Sysco/Louisville Food Services has exercised an option on a contract with the U.S. Department of Defense to supply food and related products to military installations and other facilities in Louisville and the surrounding region.  According to a news release from the DOD, the contract is valued at $18.9 million per year. Sysco/Louisville has served as the primary food vendor for the region for the past three years and has one remaining option under its current contract, said Steve Kessler, director of program sales for the Louisville operation.

Under the contract, Sysco supplies food service to cafeterias and food-service facilities at the U.S. Army's Fort Knox, near Elizabethtown, Ky.; and Camp Atterbury, near Edinburgh, Ind. The Louisville company also supplies Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio and various Job Corps Centers in Kentucky, Tennessee and surrounding areas, Kessler said. A portion of the contract is fulfilled by a sister company in Nashville, he added.

The DOD contract comprises about 5 percent of the annual revenue for Sysco/Louisville Food Services.  Sysco/Louisville Food Services, part of Houston-based Sysco Corp. (NYSE: SYY), markets and distributes food and related products throughout Kentucky, Southern Indiana, southern Illinois and West Virginia.

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November 2, 2004 - Guard unit of 95 soldiers leaves LaPorte, Indiana.

Especially from the children, it was raining tears as they exchanged hugs and kisses with their fathers Monday.  Other loved ones threw up a shield, but their broken hearts showed through faces racked with worry and pain.

The 95 soldiers assigned to the LaPorte National Guard Armory kept more poker-faced as they bravely waved goodbye en route to Camp Atterbury near Indianapolis to prepare for 15 months of active duty in Iraq.  In reality, the soldiers were also hurting but did their best to remain steely-eyed so they can best accomplish their mission and cope with extreme danger a half globe away.

"Taking care of the mission and the soldiers comes first. But, at night, I know that I'll talk to the Lord and think about my family and hope for the best," said 1st Sgt. Daniel Ronay, a resident of Westville and one of leaders of the squadron deployed from the LaPorte National Guard Armory.

Ronay is a 31-year U.S. Army veteran with previous duty on the battlegrounds of Beirut, Lebanon and during the Persian Gulf War slightly over a decade ago.  He'll join his wife, Lisa, who's already in Camp Atterbury getting ready for Operation Iraqi Freedom.  The couple's 16-year-old son is living with a best friend of Ronay's until he and his wife return home.  "My biggest fear is that I don't see a military car come into my driveway because then I know they're OK," said Kathleen Proffitt, a Michigan City native with two sons on active duty in the war.

Her 41-year-old son, Sgt. James Swanson of Michigan City, often held his 10-year-old daughter, Kristin, in the moments leading up to his departure.  And, several times, he comforted her in private when tears uncontrollably poured from her big blue eyes.  "That's her daddy. She's very close to her dad," said Proffitt.  Her other son, Ronald, has been in Baghdad, Iraq, the past several months.

Proffitt said she wished opinions were more positive about the war, saying the onslaught of negativity doesn't help the morale of the troops or family members trying to come to grips with their fears.  "We have to be realistic enough that it's not the safest place to be going but I try not to worry a lot. You just have to have a lot of faith," said Proffitt.

LaPorte-area resident Wes England said goodbye to his youngest brother, Spencer.  Another brother, Doug, has been in Afghanistan since midsummer.  "I have my own opinions about the war but what's most important is we support the guys that are over there. They're not the decision-makers. They're over there to get it done so we're going to support them any way that we can," said

Louis Warner, of Valparaiso, Ind., was adamant in his desire for the troops to be pulled out of Iraq.  His son-in-law, Michael Klenk, 31, of Chesterton, Ind., won't get to see the birth of his twins.  "This shouldn't be happening. They should just bring our troops home. There's just too many lives being lost," said Warner.

Capt. Andrew Kovatz, 39, of Hobart, Ind., said the stay at Camp Atterbury for training purposes will be anywhere from 30 to 45 days.  After that, the troops will go overseas to an undisclosed location for a short time before setting foot in Iraq.

Even though deployment brought sadness, Kovatz said there was a great sense of relief from the churning in the stomach felt by not knowing when they would be called.  "The good thing is the day is here is we're going to move forward," said Kovatz. (By STAN MADDUX, South Bend IN Tribune)

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November 4, 2004 - Stivers is one of a handful both elected and deployed

|[pic]By Lorrie Cecil/ThisWeek |

|Sen. Steve Stivers is preparing to be deployed |

|to the Persian Gulf. He is the commander of the|

|237th Personnel Services Battalion. Here, he |

|receives an anthrax shot from Pfc. Justin |

|Linhart. |

State Sen. Steve Stivers (R-Columbus, OH) has made at least two big choices this year.

The first was to interview for a promotion in an organization he's worked in for 19 years: the Ohio Army National Guard. Having started out the year a major, Stivers is expected to be promoted this month to lieutenant colonel.

The second decision was to join his unit, the 237th Personnel Services Battalion, when it was ordered to deploy to the Middle East for what is expected to be a one-year tour.

Stivers knew that the 237th was on the list of units eligible to be called to active duty when he signed on to lead it.  "I just took command of this unit in June," he said. "They went on alert in April, so I knew there was a possibility they were going to be activated."

As a former vice president of government relations at Bank One and now a state senator, Stivers has the skills and experience to have had options in the Guard, but he has chosen to remain at troop level, where the chances of deployment are high.  "I've purposely stayed in regular army troop units," he said. "I didn't want to go to state headquarters where you can't have an impact. You can't have a direct impact that you can see as well as when you're down with the soldiers."

As an elected office-holder, particularly one engaged in his first campaign, after being appointed to an open seat almost two years ago, Stivers also could have avoided the war by taking advantage of an exemption that would have allowed him to stay stateside.  "That was never anything I've ever considered," Stivers said, sitting in his office at Rickenbacker Air National Guard Base, noting that none of the several hundred men and women under his command had the same option.

"If I'm going to say I'm a leader of these soldiers, how can you say you're a leader of these solders and then not deploy with them when they have to go? Because they don't have an option, I'm certainly not going to consider the option for myself."

When the 237th leaves Camp Atterbury in Indiana sometime next month, after completing its final training before heading for Iraq or Kuwait, Stivers will join a short list of deployed, elected office-holders. In Ohio, Bill Saxbe was deployed to the Korean War. Former state Rep. E.J. Thomas was deployed to the first Gulf War. Last year, John Boccieri (D-New Middletown) was deployed to Iraq. Boccieri returned to Ohio only last week, although his duties as an airman have given him flexibility to return home for stints during the year.  (MICHAEL J. MAURER, ThisWeek Staff Writer )

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November 5, 2004 - Hillsdale woman finds long-lost dad, who's Iraq-bound

HILLSDALE, Mich. (AP) -- A 33-year-old woman who met her father for the first time Saturday soon will have to say farewell as he heads off to use his explosives expertise in Iraq as a member of the Indiana National Guard.

"I'm worried," Jen Benson, 33, said of her father, Ronald G. Bucher of Laporte, Ind. "I'm scared because I just found him. I'm going to write him and pray for his safety."  Benson's birth mother, Candance, was adopted from a German orphanage at the end of World War II by Helen Kane and her U.S. serviceman husband, W.R. Kane.

Candance Kane met Benson's father at a Halloween party and soon married but separated before Benson was born.  "I basically stayed with my grandparents from then on," Benson told the Hillsdale Daily Newss. When Benson was 3, her mother died of a drug overdose, and Benson's grandparents adopted her.  Helen Kane died soon after, and W.R. Kane remarried. He and his new wife corresponded with Benson's paternal grandmother but did not allow Bucher to have contact with Benson.

Over the years, Benson had tried unsuccessfully to find her father.  Then about six months ago, her grandfather began sending Benson items that had belonged to her mother. Among them was a scrapbook containing letters, pictures and other items.  On Oct. 28, Benson and friend and co-worker Mary McCaskey were going through the scrapbook and came across a reference to Bucher's brother Frank. The two women turned to the Internet.

"Mary and I printed off all the Frank Buchers in the country, and it was the third phone call," Benson said.

A shock came when Benson learned her father was living only a short drive away in Laporte, Ind. Benson spoke to her father by phone late that night and received yet another shock.  "He said, "We have to (see each other) Saturday because I'm leaving for Iraq," Benson said.

Benson took McCaskey with her for the meeting Saturday.  "I had no nervousness ... but when we pulled into Laporte it was surreal, it was like a dream," Benson said.  Benson found out she looks like her father and has a half-sister in California. She also found that her father had never stopped looking for her.

"He had a photo album of all the pictures my grandmother had sent," she said. "He said he felt guilty, and I don't ever want him to feel that way because he made the best decision for me."  Now Benson is facing another worry that tens of thousands of American families are facing -- the thought of a loved one in peril in Iraq. Bucher left for training at Camp Atterbury in Indiana on Monday.

Bucher will have a chance to see his daughter one more time before he leaves. He should have a four-day break around Thanksgiving and should be able to meet his grandchildren, Benson said.  She said 11-year-old Peyton, 10-year-old Donni Leigh and 8-year-old Isabella are eager to meet the grandfather they have heard about so often. (Detroit Free Press)

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November 8, 2004 - Church adopts troops at Camp Atterbury

Services are more crowded these days at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Edinburgh. While most of the congregation wears their Sunday best, some church-goers come in head-to-toe camouflage.  About 165 people squeeze into pews, crowd a balcony and pull up extra chairs to attend Sunday Mass at the church that was built to hold about 150.

The hilltop church, on the town’s west side, has been flooded with attendees since waves of Army reservists started arriving at Camp Atterbury in mid-September for training. The Army Reserve’s 98th Division, based out of Rochester, N.Y., includes troops from New York, New Jersey and New England. After several weeks of training, the soldiers will leave the Edinburgh training and mobilization station for Iraq, where they will train the country’s national army for at least one year.

The reservists left behind their families, homes and jobs to complete the mission. So for many, the church and its members help to make the Catholic soldiers feel closer to home.  When Atterbury officials notified the church about the incoming troops, church staff and members decided they wanted to do what they could to adopt the 98th Division, Monsignor Fred Easton said.

Most of the soldiers who attend services wear camouflage-colored rosaries around their necks. Church staff ordered the strings of beads from an Indianapolis business as gifts for the troops, said Deb Thurston, the church’s music coordinator.  Families gave the soldiers sunglasses and homemade cookies as a thank-you for the sacrifices they continue to make.

“I think it’s wonderful,” Easton said about the extra attendees. “I just wish the church was larger for them.”  But church staff have a backup plan if more members and troops show up than the building can hold. Willing parishioners will forego the first service for a second Mass one hour later, said Jean Martin, pastoral assistant at Holy Trinity.

Maj. Ed Griffin, a married father of two who works as a technical writer for a computer software company in New Hampshire, attends Mass regularly back home. So Holy Trinity is a welcome substitute for the practicing Catholic during his short stay in central Indiana.

The friendly smiles, warm conversation and fellowship provide the 19-year reservist with a little piece of home, he said.   “Home is no farther away than the nearest church,” Griffin said after he and nearly a dozen other soldiers kneeled to pray in the church’s entryway.

Maj. Brian Adelson has attended the church’s services every Sunday since he arrived at Atterbury last month. The husband and father of two from Saratoga Springs, N.Y., said he makes it a priority to balance his military duties and spiritual needs.

“The job we are going out to do is dangerous,” said Adelson, a 20-year reservist.  The services and generous church members give him strength for the upcoming mission, he said.

Mary Ann Hudecke, a 13-year church member and Columbus resident, has enjoyed watching the flurry of activity as staff and families rally around looking for another coffee pot or more doughnuts to put in the church’s Community Center for the added visitors.  The tight quarters are overshadowed by the warm exchanges made between soldiers and church regulars, Hudecke said. Many troops sit alongside church members and chat about their families, hometowns and churches back home before the service.

“I absolutely don’t mind the church being more crowded,” said Pam Thompson, a 24-year church member. “We’ll make room for (the troops).”

The reservists get help making their church connections from Atterbury training officers who note religious preferences on the soldiers’ paperwork. Buses transport the soldiers from the base. (By BLYTHE RICHARDS, Franklin Daily Journal (IN) staff writer)

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November 11, 2004 - Veterans honored while others train

Pressure, for military police it's about knowing your enemy's weaknesses. For soldiers heading to war it's a way of life.  For Major Deedra Thombleson, "It's kind of nerve-racking and exciting."  "There's a little fear of the unknown," adds Sgt. Shane Stephens. "I think like, anything, not knowing exactly where you might go."  Pictures of the assault on Fallujah fill the television screens as the US military reports 178 American soldiers were wounded and 18 killed in action. 

At Camp Atterbury, the 939th Military Police Detachment based in Indianapolis is among more than 2,500 troops training for their own missions overseas.  And if they think about the dangers, they don't show it.  "As far as reservations, no, I'm proud to do it," says Sgt. Bryan Mason.

Thursday, the group practiced tactics designed to control prisoners without resorting to gunfire.  "A lot of the information we get from troops getting back, we use that in training," points out Mason.  Much of what they learn comes from the experiences of soldiers who've fought before them.  Their willingness to put themselves on the line, it's own common thread that binds them to a longstanding American military tradition.

Colonel Tom McKevitt says, "A lot of these units haven't been activated or deployed since World War II."  Thombleson adds, "They feel proud to serve in the military now because of the heritage."  And Mason says his "grandmother gave me my grandfather's Purple Heart from World War II. She told me, now I had one I didn't need one of my own."

Just as they did decades ago, citizen soldiers step up as protectors of freedom.  And although the pressure is great, the will is greater.

Thombleson says these soldiers want to "show the American people we're capable and trained to do what we've got to do." (Kris Kirschner/Channel 13, Indianapolis Eyewitness News)

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November 13, 2004 - Cities worry restricted airspace could hurt airports

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COLUMBUS, Ind. -- Several cities are worried their airports and economies could suffer if the Air Force wins approval to train in controlled air space near two southern Indiana military bases.

The Federal Aviation Administration, at the request of the Air Force, has proposed creating military operations areas near Camp Atterbury, about 30 miles south of Indianapolis, and the Jefferson Proving Grounds north of Madison.

Military operations areas are sections of airspace where the military can train.  The designations do not restrict most planes, but they tend to scare away pilots who do not want to encounter F-16s, said Chris Dancy of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, based in Frederick, Md.  "The military will tell you anyone can fly through a MOA," Dancy said. "Technically, yes, that's true. But our surveys tell us overwhelmingly pilots will fly around it."

Some of proposed military operations areas begin at 500 feet above ground, a very restrictive altitude, airport officials said.  Dancy said they usually extend to around 15,000 feet above ground.

Among the mayors and airport directors concerned after the possible designation is Columbus Municipal Airport Director Rod Blasdell. He and his board of aviation commissioners have spearheaded efforts to raise awareness about the issue.  "If I'm an industry that wants to locate here, that's something I'm going to take into consideration," Blasdell said.

The Columbus Municipal Airport last week hosted a meeting with about 40 people, including pilots, businessmen and officials from surrounding cities, to talk about the issue ahead of a Dec. 6 deadline set by the FAA to comment on the issue.  Pilots for Cummins Inc., who make about 24 flights each week out of the Columbus Municipal Airport, are concerned about the possible designation, company spokesman Mark Land said. The company has not taken a stance on the issue yet, he said.

"The pilots' concerns are that if these areas were instituted, it would cost us more air time and more money. We would have to detour everything that came in from the south."  Seymour has invested millions of dollars into navigational equipment to update its Freeman Municipal Airport, Mayor Jim Bullard said.  "Any time that we have a possible interruption in our airport operation, it brings concerns," Bullard said.  Seymour pilot Jack Hildreth said the military operations areas would create the biggest disruptions in air traffic that he has seen in his 30 years of flying in southern Indiana.  (Associated Press)

November 17, 2004 - Pentagon To Cut Boy Scouts From Bases

CHICAGO - The Pentagon has agreed to warn military bases worldwide not to directly sponsor Boy Scout troops, partially resolving claims that the government has engaged in religious discrimination by supporting a group that requires members to believe in God.

The settlement announced Monday is part of a series of legal challenges in recent years over how closely the government should be aligned with the Boy Scouts of America, a venerable organization that boasts a membership of more than 3.2 million members.

Civil liberties advocates have set their sights on the organization's policies because the group bans openly gay scout leaders and compels members to swear an oath of duty to God. The ACLU believes that direct government sponsorship of such a program amounts to discrimination.

"If our Constitution's promise of religious liberty is to be a reality, the government should not be administering religious oaths or discriminating based on religious beliefs," said ACLU attorney Adam Schwartz.

The Pentagon said it has long had a rule against sponsorship of non-federal organizations and denied the rule had been violated. But it agreed to send a message to posts worldwide warning them not to sponsor Boy Scout troops or other such groups.

The rule does not prevent service members from leading Scout troops unofficially on their own time, and Scouts will still be able to hold meetings on areas of military bases where civilian organizations are allowed to hold events.

The settlement does not resolve other ACLU claims involving government spending that benefits the Boy Scouts, such as money used to prepare a Virginia military base for the Boy Scout Jamboree and grants used by state and local governments to benefit the Boy Scouts, Schwartz said.

He said the Pentagon spends $2 million every year to prepare the Virginia base for the jamboree, held once every four years. He said the Defense Department also makes annual allocations of $100,000 to support Boy Scout units on military bases overseas and $100,000 to improve Boy Scout properties, such as summer camps.

Attorney Marcia Berman, who represented the Defense Department, declined to comment on the settlement Monday. But Justice Department spokesman Charles Miller said the message that will be sent to bases represents "a clarification of an existing rule that DOD personnel cannot be involved in an official capacity."

The original ACLU lawsuit named as defendants the Department of Defense, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the Chicago Board of Education. The schools settled, agreeing not to engage in official sponsorship of scouting activities.  (Associated Press )

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November 17, 2004 - Amvets adopts reservists Group raising funds to make holidays happy for local unit headed to Mideast.

The 980th Quartermaster Army Reserve unit has been called to duty again and will spend Christmas, and probably the next several months, in the Middle East.  But the unit won't leave without something to open Christmas morning.

Amvets Post 22, 520 Pine St., has taken the 980th under its wing.  The post hopes its Operation Christmas for the Troops campaign will raise enough money to send each soldier a $20 gift card that can be used at a post exchange.

The 980th, which trains out of Bay City's James J. O'Rourke Army Reserve Center, is now at Camp Atterbury in Indiana, and officials say it likely will be in Iraq or Kuwait sometime in December.

There are about 140 soldiers in the 980th, a support unit that is trained to provide supplies, transport gasoline and purify water.  The unit was activated in October and will be on orders for 18 months.  It was also activated in February 2003, but spent about three months at Fort McCoy in Wisconsin before returning home in May.

Folks from the Amvets group collected more than $1,000 Saturday for Operation Christmas for the Troops in about two hours from drivers in Bangor Township.

This is the second year the Amvets group has adopted a unit stationed in Iraq. Last year, $10,000 was raised and 300 soldiers from two units all received $30 gift certificates.  (By Patti Brandt, Bay City Times Writer )

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November 18, 2004 - Call-ups of Hoosiers hit post-9/11 peak

More than 5,600 state-based forces have been called to service.

|[|[pic] |

|p| |

|i|Marine Gunnery Sgt. Mauricio Torres was |

|c|among 300 mourners at a memorial service |

|]|Wednesday for Marine Sgt. Morgan Strader. --|

| |Joe Vitti / The Star |

| | |

| |  |

| |Several units from the Indiana National |

| |Guard and the Army Reserve -- totaling more |

| |than 600 soldiers -- are training this month|

| |at Camp Atterbury south of Indianapolis. The|

| |soldiers expect to be on active duty for up |

| |to 18 months. |

| | |

| |More than 400 soldiers in the 113th |

| |Engineering Battalion, which is based in |

| |Gary, are expected to go to Iraq, Indiana |

| |Guard spokeswoman Capt. Lisa Kopczynski |

| |said. |

| | |

| |Engineering battalions provide |

| |rehabilitation and reconstruction for |

| |facilities such as schools and hospitals, as|

| |well as the removal of debris from military |

| |vehicle routes. |

| | |

| |Other Indiana-based units training at |

| |Atterbury will join the global war on |

| |terror: |

| |• 1438th Transportation Company, Edinburgh, |

| |a truck company with more than 150 soldiers |

| |who are trained to haul supplies. |

| |• 939th Military Police Detachment, |

| |Indianapolis, and the 938th Military Police |

| |Detachment, Michigan City. Both units have |

| |more than 25 troops. |

| |• 215th Quartermaster Company, |

| |Jeffersonville, an Army Reserve unit trained|

| |to provide supplies and logistical support. |

| |The unit's size was unavailable. |

| | |

| | |

| | |

| |  |

 

Indiana's contribution of National Guard soldiers and reservists for Iraq and the war on terror has reached its highest level since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

More than 600 Indiana National Guard soldiers are training this month at Camp Atterbury south of Indianapolis. They are among more than 5,600 Indiana-based troops headed to duty or serving in Iraq, Afghanistan and other hot spots, according to a Department of Defense tally released Wednesday. Those numbers include more than 100 reservists from Air Force, Navy and Marine units.

The Hoosier buildup comes as the fighting in Iraq has entered one of its bloodiest stages. This month, 91 U.S. troops have died in Iraq, making November the second-deadliest month since American forces invaded the country in March 2003, Pentagon records show. The worst month was April, with 135 deaths, when the insurgency intensified and Marines fought fierce battles in Fallujah.

Although most of the Indiana reserve units are not typically considered combat outfits, the lack of a clear front line in Iraq puts clerks and truck drivers in as much danger as riflemen.

Just two years ago, the state had 63 Guard and Army reservists on active duty. By May 2003, two months after the start of the Iraq war, the Defense Department said 3,467 had been called up.

Soldiers now training at Atterbury belong to four Indiana Guard units and an Army Reserve unit. The once-quiet base has been transformed since the war began and now trains mainly rear-echelon troops in everything from surviving an ambush to evacuating the wounded -- vital skills as bloody urban combat continues in Iraq.

With their supporting roles, such as issuing equipment and hauling fuel, these troops are seen as key to winning the war.

"We always refer to the Army as the Green Machine. What do you suppose it is that kept the Green Machine running?" said Tim Lomperis, a St. Louis University professor of international security. "The tip of the spear is kept fluid, dynamic and mobile by all of these support units."

Traci Estes' husband, Roger, is in a support post with the Indiana Army National Guard in Afghanistan, helping ensure that soldiers in the Afghan army get their paychecks. She believes he is relatively safe but fears a potential ripple effect of terrorism spurred by the heavy fighting in Fallujah.

Word of the toll this month in Iraq hit her hard, and she said she was in tears when her husband's most recent phone call came through.  "I could only think about their families and the grief they must be experiencing," she said.

The training at Atterbury tries to re-create conditions in Iraq, said Lt. Col. Thomas McKevitt, the Army's 3rd Brigade operations and training officer. Soldiers ride in convoys through mock villages and fire live rounds at pop-up targets.

Soldiers also learn how to treat the wounded.  "If you can stop the bleeding, treat for shock and administer an IV," McKevitt said, "you have just prolonged the life of that soldier."

Army Sgt. James Daniel Faulkner's comrades didn't get that chance. The combat engineer from Clarksville was killed instantly when a bomb exploded near his vehicle outside Baghdad in September. Two other soldiers riding in the vehicle were injured.

Faulkner's stepfather, Greg Gilkey, said the bomb was detonated from a distance.  "It wouldn't matter how he died. It's difficult to take. But I guess I could accept it a little easier (if) . . . they were in a head-on battle and knew what they were up against."  Gilkey said he has met some of the other soldiers in Faulkner's unit and prays for their safety.  "We'd like for everybody to finish the job and get home."

About 160 members of the Indiana National Guard's 38th Infantry Division finished their jobs -- keeping the peace in Bosnia-Herzegovina -- and returned home early Tuesday morning.

While there is one Indiana Guard unit in Iraq, the 138th Personnel Services Battalion, the Guard at one point had more than 1,200 infantry in the Middle East. Those units have returned.

Among those soldiers was Spc. Lee Greenamyer, who came home to his family in Angola just more than a year ago after serving in Iraq with Fort Wayne's 1st Battalion, 293rd Infantry Regiment.

His unit could be called back to Iraq, but he isn't worried yet.

"I know that the possibility exists," said Greenamyer, a 27-year-old maintenance worker for the Indiana Department of Transportation. (By Richard D. Walton and Jon Murray, )

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November 18, 2004 - Indiana’s troop commitment climbs.  Camp Atterbury is as busy as it’s been since the Korean War.

INDIANAPOLIS – More Indiana service members are serving or preparing for duty in the Middle East than at any time since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, the Department of Defense said.

More than 600 National Guardsmen are training this month at Camp Atterbury near Edinburgh, The Indianapolis Star reported today. They are among more than 5,600 Indiana-based troops headed to duty or serving in Iraq, Afghanistan and other hot spots, according to military figures.

One Indiana Guard unit – the Indianapolis-based 138th Personnel Services Battalion – is serving in Iraq.

Thousands of troops from across the country have been trained this year at Atterbury, about 30 miles south of Indianapolis. It is the biggest mobilization of troops at the post since the Korean War, military officials said.

The training at Atterbury is designed to simulate conditions in Iraq, said Lt. Col. Thomas McKevitt, operations and training officer for the Army’s 3rd Brigade.  Soldiers ride in convoys through mock villages, shoot live rounds at pop-up targets and learn how to treat the wounded.  “If you can stop the bleeding, treat for shock and administer an IV, you have just prolonged the life of that soldier,” McKevitt said.

Many of the Indiana units are support units, but the nature of the conflict in Iraq can put truck drivers and others in danger from roadside bombs, ambushes and other hazards.  Nine of the 33 Indiana service members who died in Iraq were killed by land mines, roadside bombs and other explosives, according to the Department of Defense.

One was Army Sgt. James D. Faulkner, of Clarksville. The 23-year-old combat engineer died Sept. 8 in Baghdad when a bomb detonated near the military vehicle in which he was riding.  “It wouldn’t matter how he died. It’s difficult to take,” said Faulkner’s stepfather, Greg Gilkey. “But I guess I could accept it a little easier (if) ... they were in a head-on battle and knew what they were up against.” (From The Associated Press)

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November 20, 2004 - Chemical and Biological Quality of Surface Water at the U.S. Army Atterbury Reserve Forces Training Area near Edinburgh, Indiana, September 2000 through July 2001

By Martin R. Risch, U.S. Geological Survey, Water-Resources Investigations Report 03-4149

ABSTRACT

 A base-wide assessment of surface-water quality at the U.S. Army Atterbury Reserve Forces Training Area near Edinburgh, Indiana, examined short-term and long-term quality of surface water flowing into, across, and out of a 33,760-acre study area. The 30-day geometric-mean concentrations of fecal-indicator bacteria (Escherichia coli) in water samples from all 16 monitoring sites on streams in the study area were greater than the Indiana recreational water-quality standard. None of the bacteria concentrations in samples from four lakes exceeded the standard. Half the samples with bacteria concentrations greater than the single-sample standard contained chemical tracers potentially associated with human sewage. Increased turbidity of water samples was related statistically to increased bacteria concentration. Lead concentrations ranging from 0.5 to 2.0 micrograms per liter were detected in water samples at seven monitoring sites. Lead in one sample collected during high-stream-flow conditions was greater than the calculated Indiana water-quality standard. With the exception of Escherichia coli and lead, 211 of 213 chemical constituents analyzed in water samples did not exceed Indiana water-quality standards. Out of 131 constituents analyzed in streambed-sediment and fish-tissue samples from three sites in the Common Impact Area for weapons training, the largest concentrations overall were detected for copper, lead, manganese, strontium, and zinc. Fish-community integrity, based on diversity and pollution tolerance, was rated poor at one of those three sites. Compared with State criteria, the fish-community data indicated 8 of 10 stream reaches in the study area could be categorized as "fully supporting" aquatic-life uses.

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November 23, 2004 - Atterbury troops get long holiday weekend

Thousands of troops stationed at Camp Atterbury are getting a four-day holiday break before being sent overseas after Thanksgiving.

About 4,000 troops at the Edinburgh military base will be on leave from Wednesday to Sunday, according to Maj. Mike Brady in Atterbury’s public affairs office.

When they return, about 3,200 troops will be deployed overseas at different times to Iraq, he said.

“We’re mobilizing soldiers and wanted to give them an opportunity to go back home for Thanksgiving and see their families,” Brady said.

Troops are wrapping up training today before the break starts and making sure they have rides home to see families before departing for foreign countries.

Brady described the number of troops being sent overseas as normal for this time of year, but he did not know how many had been sent home for a holiday break in the past.

Camp Atterbury is a 33,000-acre military base in Edinburgh that stretches across southern Johnson County and northern Bartholomew and Brown counties. The base serves as an active military mobilization station for National Guard and Army Reserves.

The break affects 25 units, two of which are from the Indianapolis area: the 1438 Transportation Company with 175 soldiers and a 50-member military police unit known as the Ninth 39th.

They will be able to leave by noon Wednesday, Brady said.

Fewer than 200 soldiers will remain behind to staff the base during the 96-hour holiday break, he said.

Some have already taken leave, and others will be able to get a pass in coming weeks, Brady said. Particular units might have different formations for dismissing troops. Families are welcome on the base to pick up soldiers.

“We have soldiers that are spread out across the Midwest and other parts of the country,” Brady said.

Troops are scrambling to get rides home to other Midwest states and across the country as the holiday break approaches, according to agents at some car rental agencies throughout Johnson County.

“We’re pretty much sold out,” said Jennifer Rankin at Enterprise Rent-A-Car in Franklin. “We have a lot going to troops.”

Rankin was not able to provide a number of cars that had been rented out by Monday, saying the number varies for each location.

Some of the car rental companies contacted Monday said their rental numbers are up this week because of Atterbury troops.

Most of the rentals are for the weekend, from Wednesday to Monday, company employees said.

For example, Thrifty Car Rental in Franklin has 15 rentals for Wednesday instead of the typical five or six a week, owner Ken Tearman said Wednesday.

“We see this kind of activity when they’re rotating troops, either coming back or being deployed,” he said.

At the Avis location on U.S. 31 in Greenwood, employee Sherry Hall said the company had rented vehicles to about a dozen Atterbury troops by Monday afternoon.

“You think of everything they do for us, the least we get can do is make sure they can get a ride home to see their families,” she said.  (By MICHAEL W. HOSKINS, Daily Journal staff writer)

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November 24, 2005 - Marine sacrifices his life for others in grenade blast

FALLUJAH, Iraq - Sgt. Rafael Peralta built a reputation as a man who always

put his Marines' interests ahead of his own.  He showed that again, when he made the ultimate sacrifice of his life Tuesday, by shielding his fellow Marines from a grenade blast.

"It's stuff you hear about in boot camp, about World War II and Tarawa

Marines who won the Medal of Honor," said Lance Cpl. Rob Rogers, 22, of Tallahassee, Fla., one of Peralta's platoon mates in 1st Platoon, Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment.

Peralta, 25, as platoon scout, wasn't even assigned to the assault team that

entered the insurgent safe house in northern Fallujah, Marines said. Despite

an assignment that would have allowed him to avoid such dangerous duty, he

regularly asked squad leaders if he could join their assault teams, they

said.  One of the first Marines to enter the house, Peralta was wounded in the face by rifle fire from a room near the entry door, said Lance Cpl. Adam Morrison, 20, of Tacoma, who was in the house when Peralta was first wounded.

Moments later, an insurgent rolled a fragmentation grenade into the area

where a wounded Peralta and the other Marines were seeking cover.

As Morrison and another Marine scrambled to escape the blast, pounding

against a locked door, Peralta grabbed the grenade and cradled it into his body, Morrison said.  While one Marine was badly wounded by shrapnel from the blast, the Marines said they believe more lives would have been lost if not for Peralta's selfless act.

"He saved half my fire team," said Cpl. Brannon Dyer, 27, of Blairsville,

Ga.

The Marines said such a sacrifice would be perfectly in character for

Peralta, a Mexico native who lived in San Diego and gained U.S. citizenship after joining the Marines.

"He'd stand up for his Marines to an insane point," Rogers said.

Rogers and others remembered Peralta as a squared-away Marine, so meticulous about uniform standards that he sent his camouflage uniform to be pressed while training in Kuwait before entering Iraq.  But mostly they remembered acts of selflessness: offering career advice, giving a buddy a ride home from the bar, teaching salsa dance steps in the barracks.

While Alpha Company was still gathering information, and a formal finding on

Peralta's death is likely months away, not a single Marine in Alpha Company

doubted the account of Peralta's act of sacrifice.

"I believe it," said Alpha's commander, Capt. Lee Johnson. "He was that kind

of Marine." (Gordon Trowbridge, The Army Times)

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November 24, 2004 - A holiday with family before heading to Iraq .

TV, a game of cards and a good movie; anything to pass the time.  For Sgt. Shane Lamartz of Carmel, "It's kind of challenging to stay focused."  For a month the 45 members of the 939th Military Police Detachment thought of nothing but their intense training at Camp Atterbury.  Sgt. Michael Alexander of Indianapolis has "seen enough mud, enough training, enough pushups with the forehead to last a lifetime."

In a few weeks they leave for Iraq.  Wednesday, all they could think about was home.  Sgt. Lamartz has "my wife, two cats, mother-in-law coming to town.  While Sgt. Bryan Mason of Noblesville is "going back to Ohio to see her family, my family."  Specialist Jessica Thompson from Columbus says, ".It's probably going to be our last holiday before we leave."

It's be four days of leave to catch up on a lifetime.

"Four days, it doesn't sound like much," says Alexander, "but it's going to be extraordinary."  The final few details remind them the break is temporary.  But for now, none of that matters.  "From this point everything is uncertain, so you want to try to cover what you can, do what you can," says Alexander.  Lamartz wants "just to let her know we're in good hands, take care of each other."

For the little time they have to spend with loved ones they are thankful.  "We just got married, so I'm excited to have him back for a couple of days," says one new wife.  Their mission waits in Iraq, for this weekend they're needed at home.

The 939th Military Police Detachment is based out of Indianapolis. Once they get back from their four-day break they'll prepare to be deployed to Iraq, likely sometime in early to mid-December.  They are one of 25 units in surrounding states activated for Operation Iraqi Freedom.  (Kris Kirschner/Channel 13, Indianapolis Eyewitness News)

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|November 26, 2004 - Home for the holidays - Local military unit returns for Thanksgiving |

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|[pic] |

|Kevin Graff, The Advocate |

|Members of the Ohio Army National Guard 211th Maintenance Co. are greeted by family and friends after they unload from a pair of |

|buses Wednesday at the Newark Armory. The unit returned from duty in Indiana for a Thanksgiving break. |

|[pic] |

|AP |

|Staff Sgt. Roger Rowland is hugged and kissed by wife, Becky, as his mother Donna Rowland, at right, comes out to greet him. |

| |

|Staff Sgt. Shea McCracken of Newark stepped off a bus Wednesday afternoon before embracing his wife, Abbie, and daughters, Erin, |

|12, and Courtney, 9.  The family planned to head off for a Mexican dinner, at the girls' request.  "It's going to be the last |

|holiday we're together for about a year," McCracken said. |

|McCracken, 36, reunited with his family Wednesday for the Thanksgiving holiday after spending three weeks at Camp Atterbury, Ind.,|

|with the Ohio Army National Guard 211th Maintenance Company, based out of Newark. |

|He's looking forward to sharing Thanksgiving dinner with his family at their home. |

|The guardsmen originally left on Nov. 3 for mobilization training at Camp Atterbury, and will head back to camp on Sunday. In |

|December, they'll leave for the Middle East. |

|About 200 members of the company arrived at the National Guard Armory on Hollar Lane at about 4 p.m. Wednesday on two chartered |

|buses. |

|Army veteran Edward McDonald of Newark knows what it's like to reunite with family after being separated for long lengths of time.|

|That's why he helped arrange transportation for the more than 200 soldiers. |

|"They're anxious to get home," said McDonald, 66, chair of the Ohio Veterans Association, just before the troops made their way |

|into Newark on Wednesday.  Abbie McCracken, 37, played a major role in raising money, along with McDonald and local volunteers, |

|for the soldiers' temporary homecoming. Transportation will cost $3,000 for the round trip, with a $1,000 discount from Brewster, |

|the Martinsburg-based bus company. Any money raised in excess of the goal will be used for family support for the 211th or for the|

|needs of other Licking County soldiers and their families. |

|When the soldiers found out about their short ticket home, some rented cars for the trip. Others took advantage of the bus ride |

|and traveled as a group back to Newark.  Lt. Claudio Garcia, 34, of Worthington, is glad he has a chance to say goodbye to those |

|he wasn't able to before he left.  "It's an emotional roller coaster," he said. |

|Although it's Staff Sgt. Roger Rowland's second time being deployed -- in the early '90s, he was sent to the Middle East -- the |

|39-year-old Zanesville resident echoed sentiments similar to Claudio. It's even more difficult now that he has a 3-year-old son, |

|Austin, which is a change from when he first left for overseas. |

|Sgt. 1st Class Michael Wires, 47, of Martinsburg, also agreed. He hopes to throw the football around with his son, Christopher, 8,|

|during his stay at home. |

|"It's going to be hard to leave this time," he said. |

|The activation is the largest military deployment from Licking County since World War II. It's the first time the maintenance |

|company has been activated in its 55-year history.  (MELISSA KNIFIC, Ohio Advocate Reporter ) |

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November 29, 2004 - Model soldiers

When troops are sent to Camp Atterbury for training, they are placed in a setting designed to look like Iraq and other trouble spots overseas.

They wade through mud in camouflage uniforms, training on weapons, controlling prisoners and keeping military Humvees together in a group.

Civilians are hired to act like Iraqi citizens, wandering the camp and organizing protests that troops might see overseas.

Camp Atterbury creates the foreign setting so well that military leaders are sending more troops to the Indiana military base, modeling other locations on it and channeling money to pay for upgrades there.

More than six times the typical amount of troops is stationed at Camp Atterbury, the highest level since the camp was activated in February 2003.

The military has not relied so heavily on Camp Atterbury since the Korean War, said Sgt. Les Newport in Atterbury’s public affairs office.

“Atterbury exemplifies what we’re trying to do,” said Lt. Col. Richard Steele, public affairs officer for the 1st Army in Georgia, which oversees Atterbury. “The strength of Atterbury is its ability to prepare citizen soldiers for what they’ll see, so they aren’t surprised. They’re in Iraq for all practical purposes.”

Troops at Atterbury are civilian soldiers in the National Guard and Army Reserves who have been called to duty. Training is designed to simulate conditions overseas in trouble spots like Iraq and help sharpen soldiers’ skills to deal with wartime environments, Steele said.

“The war we’re facing has no rear areas or front lines,” Steele said. “It doesn’t matter what kind of unit you’re in, you face a lot of the same threats. Every soldier must be able to function in infantry.”

The training techniques have caused military leaders to send as many soldiers through Atterbury’s training as possible, he said.

More than 4,000 troops are currently training at the military post, and about 3,200 of them will be deployed in coming months, Newport said.

Fort McCoy in Wisconsin and Fort Drum in New York have decreased amounts of troops training during the winter, Newport said. Both bases are much larger than Atterbury, but snow, ice and colder weather slow the amount of troops training and shipping out.

“We’ve hit a peak,” Newport said, noting that about 600 troops are typically stationed at Atterbury. “This is the largest concentration we’ve had here since being activated.”

An estimated 20,000 troops from Atterbury have been deployed overseas and to locations around the country since February 2003, he said.

Currently, about 25 units are stationed at the base; two are from the Indianapolis area: the 1438th Transportation Company with 175 soldiers and the 50-member unit known as the 939th Military Police Detachment.

Most of the civilian military volunteers returned Sunday from a four-day holiday break. They are now awaiting orders for deployment to Iraq in mid-December as part of the third rotation of troops being sent overseas to Iraq.

Before the break, some soldiers in the 939th Detachment spent time wading through mud and practicing how to properly fill out paperwork, control prisoners and keep vehicle convoys from getting separated.

In their barracks, some quizzed each other with flash cards on foreign words.

The military is trying to re-create Atterbury’s training program at other military locations, Steele said.

Mississippi-based Camp Shelby is being structured like Atterbury to mobilize Guard and Army Reserve soldiers, Steele said.

Nearly 183,000 troops in the National Guard and Army Reserve had been mobilized on bases across the country as of last week, according to the Department of Defense’s Web site. A total 157,000 are currently on active duty.

Newport said he expects continual deployments from Atterbury next year, some during the early part of 2005, he said.

“Atterbury has seen an increase in troops because they exemplify our training philosophy,” Steele said. “It’s a premier training and mobilization station, and I don’t see that changing.”

The Army granted the base an extension earlier this year as a mobilization base through February, but Newport said the base will remain active until all troops return home.

Before the Army granted Camp Atterbury its official designation early last year, the Indiana National Guard had envisioned a larger role for the base, which is 33,000 acres in Edinburgh and stretches across southern Johnson County and northern Brown and Bartholomew counties.

In 2002, Congress approved upgrades and an $8 million computerized battle simulation center that is currently under construction, Newport said.  (By MICHAEL W. HOSKINS, Daily Journal staff writer)

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